Starting Over
by goldensnitch18
Summary: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Over a year later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are there some scars that never heal?
1. Chapter 1

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are there some scars that never heal?**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, scenes of a sexual nature, mild violence**

 **Chapter One: A New Neighbor**

The moving boxes outside of the apartment next to Hermione's were no reason for alarm at first glance. Her neighbour, the elderly lady who had brought her cookies and bottles of wine for the first six months of her stay in her flat as a result of her late nights up crying had left the flat in favour of a bedroom in her son's home. Hermione had been expecting a new neighbour for nearly two weeks, so the sight of the boxes was actually more cause for interest than concern.

She first laid eyes on them after her morning trip down to the lobby to grab her post and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She watched as a man appeared in the hall with a box in hand, ignored her presence, and walked inside the open door. She waited for him to return empty handed and watched as he disappeared again. She was familiar with this fashion of 'mover' now. It was humourous to think of a truck trying to make it's way down Diagon Alley to their building, so the 'movers' used Apparition to get the job done in the wizarding world.

Hermione watched for a few minutes hoping to catch sight of her new neighbour but was unsuccessful. After walking into her own flat, she sat at the counter in her kitchen as she read through her mail and ate her breakfast. There was nothing of interest in the stack of bills or her copy of The Daily Prophet. She flipped through the paper, scanning for any news that seemed important, but it was a slow day. None of the golden trio had made the paper that day. She liked it that way. She'd had enough adventure for several lifetimes. Once she had finished reading, she cleaned her plate and cup and put them both away in the cupboard. She gathered her bag and coat and headed towards the door to leave for work at the Ministry of Magic where she was in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

When she pulled the front door open, Hermione was startled by the sight that greeted her. A man was standing in her doorway, hand raised as if he was about to knock on her door. His mouth had fallen open, she assumed in shock as hers had done much the same thing for that very reason. As she watched, some of his blonde hair fell down to just above his grey eyes. His hand fell back to his side.

"I thought you married Weasley. Shouldn't you be in that hovel of a thing they call a house?" he asked her, and she felt her nose upturn at his drawl. She knew her eyes had narrowed, and her lips were pursed as she watched him.

Hermione shut the door to her apartment behind her. She didn't even like talking about the life she used to have with Harry, Ginny, Neville, or Luna. She certainly wasn't going to get into it with Draco Malfoy when she knew very well that he must have read about it in the papers or heard the gossip. Their divorce had hardly been a quiet affair. "Can I help you with something?" she asked as he took a step backward to make the space between them more acceptable.

"No, I was just trying to meet my neighbour, Weasley." She closed her eyes briefly as he threw the past at her again.

"It's Granger. So, does this mean that is you moving in next door?" She did not change her tone from the monotonous wave it had taken on.

"It does indeed ... Granger," he said, placing a significant emphasis on her name. Hermione forced a tight smile.

"Well, isn't that just wonderful. It will be just like old times back at Hogwarts." She moved past him to the place where his movers had been appearing this morning.

Hermione continued down the stairs to the lobby of their building and straight over to the fireplace. She quickly grabbed a pinch of floo powder and cried, "Ministry of Magic." Hermione walked out into the morning rush of people hurrying to work. She smiled kindly at a few people who greeted her and headed for the atrium, which she took the fourth level. She walked swiftly to her office to find her assistant had not yet arrived. Hermione unlocked her office and stepped inside, closing the door behind her again, locking it from the inside. She fell back against it and took several long, deep breaths.

It had been a year since anyone had called her Weasley. Her divorce had been plastered across every Wizarding newsprint she knew of. The intentional jab hurt more than she would have imagined, especially coming from him. She hadn't seen Malfoy since before … before she had lost Rose.

Hermione placed her palm over her stomach as silent tears rolled down her cheeks, imaging what it had felt like nearly two years ago when it had been swelled with her child. She had carried their daughter for seven months, done everything the right way, read every book, but it had been in vain. She had slipped on stairs, fallen, and everything had changed.

At first, they thought everything was fine, but Ron insisted they go see the healer at St. Mungo's. He had given them-them the terrible, life-changing news with a wave of his wand. She had watched as his smile became a frown as his face had fallen. Hermione could never, as long as she lived, imagine another pain as cruel and heartbreaking as giving birth to her lifeless child. Now, try as she might, she couldn't imagine her stomach swelled with the extra weight of a child. She used to be able to see it clearly, but it seemed as distant as her dreams.

She had left Ron. They had tried, but …

Something had been broken. They turned away from each other when they should have been relying on each other. She could still remember the day that her divorce had been finalised. She had gone down to grab the post like she did every morning, and the small details on the envelope had made it clear it was the papers she had been expecting from the Ministry for over a week. It was addressed to her full name. It was clearly marked with two stamps promoting that the package was 'confidential' and 'urgent.' Her lawyer's name was in the corner as the sender.

She had ripped the seal and there they were. The pieces of parchment that would end her marriage to her best friend. It had been sixty-eight days since she had sent her intent to the Ministry and they had been able to get the process rushed because they were high profile and Hermione had already moved out by that point. It had been pure hell.

After that, Ron had kept their flat in London and she had taken the sofa. How could Draco Malfoy even begin to imagine what her life had been life the past few years or how much his words would shake her to her core? With a heavy sigh, Hermione wiped at her face, waved her wand to clear the tears, and unlocked the door to her office.

XXX

It was twelve thirty that same day when Hermione looked up to see Harry leaning against her door frame and staring at her intently. "How are you today?" he asked and she shrugged.

"I have a new neighbour. I think you know him. Goes by ferret to his good friends." She looked back down at her work and waited for Harry to remember the event to which she was referring and then listened as his laughter filled the room.

"That's horrible, Hermione," he said as he walked over to her desk. He sat atop it, right next to her and handed her an envelope. She eyed it uneasily and took it with the same reluctance. She put the letter in a drawer at the bottom of the right side of her desk and ignored it as it fell atop the rest of the identical, unopened letters also hidden there. "This is just the thought of an old has been Chosen One, but perhaps you should open one."

"No. I can't do that." She told him simply, and he accepted her rejection with the air of someone who had taken this response many times before. "So, is Ginny going to make it today?" she asked as she pushed away from her desk and grabbed her purse. He shook his head and held the door open for her.

"Just you and me," he said. They walked out of the room together as Harry's head bobbed to invisible music only he could hear. She remembered being that happy once and was instantly happy for and jealous of her best friend. He had two sons now. James and Albus, who Ginny had been pregnant with when she had lost Rosie. They were the most precious little godsons she could have asked for, but she had already sensed a bit of a troublesome quality in James. Apparently George had also discovered this quality and began to produce toddler safe trouble making items. Ginny had put her foot down and told him that James wasn't to touch a single one until he was, at least, three years old, but this didn't really stop George from trying to entice his nephew.

"How's Ron?" Hermione asked Harry as they sat down to eat.

Harry let out a sigh and a shrug. "I don't know. Same, I suppose. He's got good days and bad, same as you."

"Ginny said he's seeing someone," she told him bluntly. She hadn't asked Ginny who it was, but she couldn't help but want to know.

Harry suddenly looked uneasy. "Yeah, he is. It's odd really, he's been out with Lavender a few times."

"I guess he never got over that wonderful emotional connection they shared back in sixth year," Hermione said sarcastically as they looked over their menus.

Harry shrugged again but didn't speak. He always waited for her to end this part of the conversation. He never supplied her a way out.

"How are the boys?" She asked finally a few minutes later after they had placed their orders.

"You mean since you saw them four days ago?" They both laughed, but he answered her question anyway. "They are great. Ginny's exhausted, I'm exhausted, James is a crazy energy machine. Too bad he can't loan us some every once in awhile. Albus is so quiet, calm, calculating. He's a nice break from the chaos of his older brother. So, what is this neighbour business? Is it really Malfoy?"

"Yes. It's Malfoy. I just saw him on my way to work and the conversation wasn't exactly thrilling or inviting, but it wasn't nearly as awful as it could have been," she told him reflecting on their morning chat. "He mentioned our divorce. I do wonder why it is he's moved into my apartment building of all places though."

"I heard from Neville that he and Pansy Parkinson split recently. He probably wanted a place near the bank."

"I forgot he's working for them now," Hermione admitted, a bit ashamed at this forgotten knowledge. "What exactly is it he does for them?" She asked and watched Harry shrugged yet again.

"Runs the Ministry accounts, but I only know that cuz I have to deal with him over them. He's pretty quiet about most things these days. I know he and Parkinson split cuz Hannah was working at the Leaky and Pansy was in for a drink with Daphne Greengrass and Malfoy came in and went nuts. Apparently she'd been cheating on him for a while and he'd just found out. That's gotta be rough. Outside of that, if I didn't know him better I'd suspect a change of heart in him, but we both know that's next to impossible." Harry laughed loudly.

"I'll second that." Hermione agreed, remembering the way he'd rubbed her name in that very morning.

XXX

When Hermione returned home that evening she paused for a single moment at her door to look at the one next to it. It didn't seem to be hiding any dark evil force, but it was possible that Draco Malfoy was standing behind that very door at that very moment staring into the corridor at her.

At the thought, she hurried to place her wand against her door and opened it. When she walked into the room she took in the familiar scene of her home and felt the rush of loneliness that always seemed to swallow her after the door shut behind her.

Her thoughts moved back to Ron and she immediately chided herself. They had been divorced for a year, separated for more than that, and she had left him. It was acceptable that he was dating. It was nearly unacceptable that she wasn't. Ginny and Luna were constantly bothering her about it. It wasn't that she didn't have some nice offers, after all, she was Hermione Granger. She had helped save the world nine years ago. She was the most brilliant witch of her age. She wasn't a beauty, but she was pretty in her own right.

She had offers sure enough, but none of them seemed right. It hadn't been that way with Ron. With Ron, she'd always known. She knew for years that they were meant to be before she'd kissed him over discarded basilisk fangs during that fateful battle at Hogwarts. It had been an inevitable force that had thrust them together, and now she could never have that again. Truth be told she was terrified of dating. She didn't really think she would be any good at it, and she doubted that she could ever be serious with anyone the way she was with Ron. She certainly didn't want any more children. Most men she knew that were serious about pursuing her wanted the whole package. Hermione Granger no longer had the whole package she had a broken heart, a lonely soul, and a bitter womb. Who would ever want to love that?

 **A/N: This is an old story of mine that I started in 2007. I've edited it quite a bit and I'm reposting. I have 10 chapters done and I'm still working on it, but I want time to work on Out of the Dark also, which is the sequel to my story Amortentia which I will be wrapping up this week, so I'll be posting a chapter once a week on Thursdays or Fridays for this story depending on my schedule each week. I'm a little crazy and impatient, so expect updates more on Thursdays than Fridays!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I would love to hear about it in the review box below! Also, add it to your follows to get alerts when the next chapter goes up!**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	2. Chapter 2

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Over a year later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: Thank you SO SO SO much to my three incredible, beautiful, hilarious beta's who make me laugh and help make this story so much more than it was before!**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warnings: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Two: The Estranged Wife**

The next few weeks passed in the same fashion Hermione had become accustomed to living out her days since she had moved into her flat. She woke early, went to work, spent the evening at home working or at Harry and Ginny's doting on her godsons, and then she went home to bed. If not for the sense of impending doom that seemed to greet her every time she laid eyes on the door of the next apartment down the hall, Hermione would have hardly noticed a change at all. She hadn't seen Malfoy once, and she was very grateful for this. She had even begun to hope that he had decided to find another apartment building, but three weeks after his arrival the owls were still dropping post for him into his box. It wasn't that she cared enough to check, she just happened to notice as she was gathering her own letters. This was precisely what she was doing when the second unwelcome Slytherin from the past collided with her life in the form of a shrill voice outside the building.

Hermione spun to see what all the commotion was about and instantly regretted her decision. The noise was coming from a skinny, brunette woman wearing blue robes that seemed to move around her like water instead of clothing. "I know that my husband is here," she shrieked at the doorman, Howard.

Hermione couldn't help but be impressed by Howard's staunch stance. He gripped his wand tightly in his right hand making it very clear that he meant to keep the woman, whom Hermione had identified as Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy, out. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. Even if that were the case, you aren't on the guest list of any of our residents, and therefore, I cannot let you in."

Hermione smiled at the thought of her first day in her apartment when she had been asked to create a list of close friends and family. She had thought it was silly at the time, but Howard had explained that they housed several high-profile figures, such as herself, and it was only for their own safety and privacy that they asked for the list.

At this announcement, Pansy flipped her hair, her blazing eyes suddenly stopped at Hermione. Pansy's arm flew out immediately and pointed at the woman. "There! She knows my husband and I. Surely you can let me in."

"Ms. Granger, do you know this woman?" Howard asked, his eyes sliding from Pansy to Hermione.

"Yes, but she's no friend of mine," Hermione answered as she took an immense amount of pleasure in the sneer that spread across Pansy's face.

"Granger, just because you and Weasel are incapable of keeping a marriage together doesn't mean everyone is," Pansy snapped. "Let me in this bloody building to see my husband."

Hermione's rage at Pansy's words made her blood pound in her ears. Why did these idiot Slytherin's make her feel like she was eleven years old and back at Hogwarts? "I'll be sure to let your _husband_ know that when I'm with him tonight." The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them, but once they came there was no turning back. "I guess you should have spent less time in Paris leaving poor Draco on his own. Someone had to warm his bed at night."

It was good for Hermione that Howard had his wand at the ready, because Pansy lunged forward and only stopped when Howard flicked the wood in his hand in her direction. For effect, Hermione made a show of grabbing Draco Malfoy's mail from the box next to her own and headed for the lift.

When she reached the ninth floor, Hermione realised the flaw in her extremely terrible plan of making Pansy believe that she was sleeping with her husband. She was now in possession of Malfoy's mail, and he would probably be wanting it. Hoping he would be asleep, Hermione tapped lightly on his door, but a moment later she heard approaching footsteps and the sound of the door clicking open.

The sight that met her was unexpected, but certainly not unpleasant. He was wearing trousers, but his chest was bare and water droplets were sticking to the ends of his hair. Hermione watched him as one droplet fell. She attempted not to follow it, but was betrayed as her eyes watched the droplet move from the end of his blonde hair to his hard shoulder and run down his sleek chest. As she thought about the reality of just what she had strongly suggested to Pansy about those abs, Hermione felt a blush creep up from her chest into her cheeks.

"I grabbed this for you and told your wife we're sleeping together. Have a good day!" she said thrusting the letters into his hand.

She turned for her own door then, but wasn't quite quick enough to escape him. As she placed her wand against her door, he caught up to her. "You want to run that last bit by me again?" he asked her with one brow raised.

She nodded, "Um, well, I was just wishing you a good day, you know being neighbourly. Not something you seem to have a good grasp on."

"How about the bit before that?" he asked, ignoring her jab at his behaviour during their previous meeting.

"Oh." Hermione pushed the door open and walked into her flat, hoping he would go back to his own, but instead he followed her inside. "Ah, well," she began, setting her own mail on the kitchen table. "It seems that your wife desired to visit and things were said, and I may have implied, that we were, well, together."

She expected some sort or explosion or snide comment, but instead he asked, "How did she take the news?" She noticed the slightest upturn at the corner of his mouth. _Was Draco Malfoy fighting off a smile?_

"I simply told her it was natural that you needed someone to warm your bed while she was in Paris." His mouth fell open, and Hermione looked away from him and rushed through the rest of what had happened. "And, well, she tried to attack me, but Howard kept her at bay."

"I didn't think you possible of such disgusting behaviour, Granger," he told her. Malfoy actually laughed then, and Hermione looked back at him, staring in disbelief. "Serves the ruddy bitch right." As he said this, he seemed to become aware of Hermione losing the battle with her eyes, which were trailing another drop of water down his chest. "I guess I should be going then," he told her simply. "Thanks for grabbing this."

He waved the mail in his hand at her and with a click of the door, he was gone, leaving Hermione to marvel in the fact that Pansy would want to cheat on such a body. Her French boyfriend must have been downright godly. Then, Hermione remembered whom the chest she had been ogling belonged to and found herself chastising her own foolishness for pitying Malfoy. He probably gave as good as he got in their marriage. He certainly always had at school.

XXX

That evening, Hermione finished her work earlier than usual due to her dinner plans with Harry and Ginny. Harry had told her earlier it was to discuss a serious matter, but try as she might, Hermione had been unsuccessful at getting it out of him. To her surprise, when Hermione emerged from her office that night, Malfoy was chatting with her assistant about Quidditch. "Hello, Granger," he said, smiling at her. It was unnerving. That morning he had laughed and now he was smiling.

"See you tomorrow, Ms. Granger," her assistant waved as he walked away from the pair of them.

"Have a good night," she told him.

"He's a nice fellow," Malfoy told her.

"Hello, Malfoy," she said uncertainly, feeling instantly suspicious of his motives showing up at her work. "Do you need something?"

"I thought I would invite you to dine and get drunk with me tonight to thank you for this morning."

Hermione was taken aback for a minute. This was the absolute last thing she had been expecting. She sputtered for a moment, but soon found her voice, "Don't you have friends?" He looked affronted, and she realised a moment too late how absolutely rude she sounded and covered her mouth with her fingers.

"Of course, I have friends," he answered her as if she was ridiculous. "Unfortunately, most of my friends are married to her friends and refuse to say a word about her in fear that it will end them up in the same place I am now."

"Of course. I'm sorry," Hermione said, suddenly reminded of the months of despair and the loneliness that still followed her after her own divorce. It would have been nice to have someone who wasn't a friend of Ron's. "Well, I have to go to Harry and Ginny's for dinner, but maybe after," she said noncommittally.

"Sounds good," Malfoy told her and began to walk away.

She felt guilty as she watched him move away from her. She couldn't imagine just showing up at Gringott's and asking him for dinner or a drink. She couldn't imagine how she would feel if he had said no. "Malfoy?" she stepped forward and called after him. "I was going to walk from the Apparition point, do you want to head there together?"

He looked as surprised by her invitation as she had felt about his, but he gave her a one-sided grin. "Sure," he replied.

They walked, mostly in silence, but with a few attempts at light conversation along the way. At times the silence was uncomfortable, and Hermione chided herself that she must be one of the dumbest people alive for inviting him to walk home with her.

"So, you work at Gringott's?"

"Yeah."

"What do you do for them?"

"I work closely with the Ministry. Mostly the Minister and his financial advisor's."

"Oh, that must be interesting."

"It's okay."

The silence became thick.

"So, Potter had a couple kids now?"

"Two boys."

"Hmm."

Hermione kept quiet as the silence between questions became almost unbearable.

"His wife was on the Harpies, yeah?"

"Yeah. She was very good, I'm told."

"You don't follow Quidditch?"

"No."

Luckily, it was a short walk after the apparition, and they reached their flats without any great event, besides the raising of an eyebrow from Howard. Hermione found her thoughts and words from the morning racing back, making her cheeks tinge pink again at what Howard must have thought of them. By the time Hermione reached her door, she was very glad she had plans with Harry and Ginny.

"See you, Granger," Malfoy told her as he walked past her. He pressed his wand against his door to unlock it, and disappeared behind it without a backwards glance. Hermione followed his example and wondered what on earth could ever convince her to go to his flat for drinks.

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing, following, and adding this story to your favorite stories lists ! You are all so amazing. I am pretty excited about the response to this story and about where it is going from here.**

 **I'm trying really hard to stick to my posting schedule of every thursday. I really wanted to post early but I held out until after midnight my time. Haha.**

 **I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think in the little box below for reviews and I will love you forever !**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	3. Chapter 3

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Over a year later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warnings: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Three: A Reason to Drink**

Hermione arrived at Harry and Ginny's at eight o'clock that evening. She ignored their uneasy glances and instead hugged them each in turn before inquiring about the location of her godsons.

"Oh, we put the boys to bed early tonight. They had a long day," Harry told her as they walked towards the kitchen.

Hermione nodded her understanding. "It's okay. I suppose the two of you appreciate every moment of adult time you get these days."

When they reached the kitchen, Ginny flicked her wand and steaming bowls and plates of food moved from several odd places in the kitchen onto the table, while Harry grabbed two of the bottles of wine Dudley had given him and Ginny for their last anniversary. "I didn't want to leave Al before, but I think he's old enough now. My mum's dying to keep them both overnight. I don't think she realizes how much energy it takes to keep them both happy that long."

"She raised seven children, Gin," Harry managed through a laugh. "I think we would be leaving them in capable hands. We should plan a night out, Hermione. It's just what we all need."

Hermione sipped at her wine and ate with her friends. She enjoyed their easy conversations and their acceptance of her. She didn't have to worry about their motives or the way they saw her. They loved her. Hermione looked forward to these moments of peace with them, which didn't occur nearly enough for her. They, along with her parents, had kept her going when it seemed like everything was so lost. She loved her work and she buried herself in it to avoid thinking about Ron or her daughter. Inevitably those times came when she couldn't hold on any longer, and these people were the only lifeline she had.

She had all but forgotten about her awkward walk home when Ginny brought up Malfoy. "Have you seen any more of the ferret lately?" she asked with a smirk that nearly reminded Hermione of her new neighbor.

"Oh," Hermione felt a blush that had nothing to do with her wine rise into her cheeks. "Yes."

"Something's happened!" Ginny laughed, and Harry frowned.

"Has he done something?" he asked seriously.

"Not him. Me," she told them as they were finishing their desserts. "Pansy Parkinson showed up at our building today and Howard wouldn't let her in."

"She wasn't on Malfoy's list?" Ginny said in feigned shock while Harry laughed. "She must have really pissed him off, what with her cheating on him and everything. He's totally overreacting."

"No, she wasn't on the list. So you know what she did? She noticed me, and expected me to tell Howard to let her in!"

"No!" Harry said, his eyes watering from laughter.

"Yeah, I know! So, of course, I said no. She said something about how just because my marriage was over didn't mean theirs was, and I … well I may have suggested I would make sure to tell that to Draco while I was sleeping with him tonight … or something like that."

Ginny snorted, Harry choked on his cake, and Hermione took a long pull of her wine as she looked awkwardly away from the pair of them.

"You did not!" Ginny said in disbelief. Hermione nodded.

"I did. I don't know what came over me. I've never said anything so terrible in my life. I just couldn't handle that look on her face. I grabbed his mail, just to prove a point, and left her to deal with Howard. She tried to attack me! He had to keep her out with his wand." She tried to make it sound like what she had done was a normal reaction, but her embarrassment still flared in her cheeks.

"What did you do with his mail?" Ginny asked with a giggle. Harry had crossed his arms and was still frowning at her.

"I took it to him and told him what I'd done. He thought it was great, and even asked me over for dinner tonight." Hermione thought it appropriate to leave out the fact that he was only half dressed when she talked to him that morning. She also neglected to mention that he had come all the way to the ministry to ask her to eat dinner with him.

Harry stared at her. "Draco Malfoy asked you to dinner?"

"Yes."

"Maybe something has changed him."

"You know," Ginny said, with a mischievous smile, "I saw Malfoy at Gringotts a couple months ago. He is quite a handsome bloke these days." Harry turned to her and stared in disbelief. "Not as handsome as you, of course, love." Ginny kissed him then, and Hermione felt the pang of longing shoot through her again. It wasn't that she wanted Ron, so much as she wanted someone to love and care about her again.

"He's been decent when I've seen him, but that doesn't mean you should go have dinner with him. He's still Malfoy," Harry chided.

"Well, I clearly didn't go, so I wouldn't worry about him too much. Anyway, what is it you two needed to talk to me about?" she asked, hoping to change the subject. Harry and Ginny both sobered at her question. She saw something that looked very much like pity in the lines of their faces, and she frowned as her heart began to race. "What is it? Is he all right?"

"He's fine," Harry told her. "Only we just thought we should tell you some things that are happening with him right now."

"What sort of things?" Both Harry and Ginny were silent for an entire minute and she asked her question again, "What sort of things?"

"He's... well... Lavender is moving into the flat." She stared at him and waited for him to laugh.

"Our flat? The flat we bought together after we found out I was pregnant?" Harry nodded and she let her elbows rest against the table as her face fell into her hands. Then a conversation she'd had with Harry just two weeks ago came floating back to her. She remembered Harry's uneasy look and then his words; _he's been out with Lavender a few times._ "You told me they'd only been out a few times," she said letting her hands fall back to her lap, her eyes looking straight at Harry.

"I know. I thought that was the case, but it seems they've been pretty serious for a while now, and he just didn't want to say anything."

She knew from his expression he hadn't known, but she still couldn't believe the words. "Pretty serious? She's moving into _our_ flat! I would say that's pretty serious. How could he do that? We were going to be a family there."

"I'm so sorry, Hermione." Ginny had tears in her eyes and that is when Hermione knew there was more. Ginny was one of the strongest people Hermione knew. She never cried easily.

"What else do you have to tell me?" she croaked, the words catching in her throat.

"Lavender's … she's … pregnant," Ginny whispered, the words like poison on her tongue. This was too much for Hermione to take in. She stood up from the table and grabbed her bag.

"I've got to go," she told them, hurrying from the room.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled as she heard his chair scrape against the floor. He caught up with her at the front door and held her against his shoulder as she began to cry. "He wanted to tell you himself, but I thought you would need some time. I'm so sorry." He rocked her against him and she moved backwards, forcing him to release her.

"I need to go home, Harry. I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?"

"Will you be alright? You can stay here." She saw the worry etched in his face and glanced to the hall where Ginny was watching them, tears still falling silently down her cheeks.

"No, I think I need to be alone. I'll talk to you tomorrow though. I'll be fine I promise," she told him and turned to leave.

Once she had arrived back at her flat, Hermione stood in front of the door to her flat for nearly ten minutes. She was holding her wand, but she had yet to press it against the wood to be admitted. She didn't want to go inside. She didn't want to be in the rooms where she had spent every day since her divorce. She couldn't bear to see the table where she ate alone. She couldn't bear to see the bed she slept in alone. She couldn't bear to see the shower she had used to cover the sounds of her sobs. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She was so tired of being alone.

Ron wasn't alone. He was with Lavender. Of all the witches in the world … And she was pregnant. She was going to have a baby. Ron's baby. Ron was going to get to be a father. He was going to be an incredible father. Hermione had always known that he would be.

But, she wasn't going to get to be a mother. She was going to keep being alone, and she couldn't bear the thought of that anymore, especially when the person Ron hated most in the world was just next door. He was sort of expecting her. She knew it was wrong and petty and possibly self-destructive, but she didn't care. Ron was having a baby, and she would be damned if she spent another night with her shower running to cover her sobs.

Hermione took a step back from her door, turned, and began walking again. A moment later, she slid her wand into her pocket and reached her hand up to knock on Malfoy's door.

XXX

Draco was finishing his dishes from dinner when he heard the knock. He figured it had to be Granger as she was the only person who could get into this building who would have a reason to knock on his door this late at night. It was odd since he hadn't actually been expecting her. Their walk back from the ministry had been awkward, and she had seemed weird about the whole thing anyway. He'd spent most of the night wondering what in the world had compelled him to show up at her office like that. He just … he'd been so glad to know for once that someone had put Pansy in her place. Someone had been able to hopefully make her feel one ounce of the betrayal he had felt when he had discovered that she was sleeping with someone else. Hermione wouldn't have been his first choice of companion, but in retrospect, they seemed to have a lot in common these days, so he'd decided to just go for it and see if she would like to go to dinner. When she had turned him down, he hadn't really been surprised, but he had been disappointed.

The knock on the door had him curious, wondering if perhaps she had changed her mind, so he set his wand in his pocket and went to open the door. He could hear her moving around outside for a moment before he turned the knob, and then she stood before him, biting her lip.

His immediate thought was that she had been attacked, but there was no sign of any sort of struggle. Her clothing seemed to be in place, but she seemed tired. Not tired in the sense that she needed a nap, but tired in the sense that she needed a new life. Her face was red and it was clear to him that she had been crying at some point in the recent past. "Are you alright?" he asked as he stepped aside so that she could move into the flat. She did so, shuffling more than walking.

"No. Earlier you mentioned getting drunk. Still want to do that?" she asked him, and he could tell she was dead serious. It was clear that she was having a rough night.

"I suppose I could still handle getting drunk. I know why I'm drinking, but what's your story?" Draco led the way to the kitchen. He pulled a large bottle of Firewhiskey from the cupboard and considered glasses, but figured she wouldn't really need one, so he handed her the bottle.

"Ron and Lavender are having a baby, and she's moving into _our_ flat," she told him and then took a drink of the firewhiskey. She flinched as it slid down her throat, but she took another drink as soon as the first was down.

"Sounds like a hell of a reason to me. I'll be drinking because my wife was cheating on me for all but the first three months of our marriage." He took the bottle from her and held it to his lips, pouring the liquid into his mouth. It burned on the way down, but it only served as a reminder that he was still here, still feeling, still living.

"I get jealous when I see Harry and Ginny together. They love each other in a way that could have survived what happened to me and Ron and I just … it's awful." He handed her back the bottle and watched her drink again. It didn't seem to bother her as much this time.

"I'll drink to that. Happy couples make me sick." He threw back the firewhiskey again. "How about; I'm one of the richest men in the wizarding world, and I'm hiding from my soon to be ex-wife in this apartment building, because I can't go to the house I just bought for us without her showing up to grovel." They had found a rhythm now, passing the bottle back and forth easily as they spoke.

"I'm one of the brightest witches alive. I've passed more legislation to benefit magical creatures in the last five years than anyone has in the past five centuries. _And_ I live in this apartment building because I hate being around new people. And I'm terrified of dating. He's having a baby, and I haven't even gone on a date." The bottle slipped easily into her hands and to her lips.

"Pansy was the only girl I ever dated. It seems an awful waste of my youth."

"I've never really dated anyone but Ron either."

"I hate my friends. They all remind me of a life I no longer belong in."

"I miss Hogwarts and classes and our professors. I miss the adventure. I never thought I would say that, but I do. And I miss being the bookworm. I miss our 'Golden Trio.'"

"I don't miss the bloody Golden Trio." He laughed at her, and she smiled. He liked the way that making a woman smile again made him feel. "I miss Quidditch and Dumbledore and potions and even bloody Snape."

"Harry and Ginny named their son after them both."

Draco actually snorted at that. "That's fairly noble of them, as always."

"I miss my daughter," Hermione said softly, and he felt like he had to say something equally as serious, but he didn't have anything.

"I wish I had children. Maybe that would have made my marriage better." He'd wondered so many times. What if he and Pansy had had a baby? She probably still would have … well … it was probably best that they didn't.

"That's a horrible reason to have children." Hermione looked offended at the very notion of him and Pansy having a baby.

"Yeah, well I was always a horrible person, wasn't I?"

"You didn't stay on their side. I mean you didn't exactly hug Harry and print up the Order of the Phoenix badges, but that must count for something." He could tell she was reaching, possibly rewriting history a bit, but he appreciated the effort.

"Yeah, I suppose it counts that my family desired nothing more than being alive once it was over." He and his parents were lucky they hadn't ended up in Azkaban. Potter had actually spoken for them. He wasn't supposed to know that, but Kingsley had told him a few years back.

"I think that's what everyone wanted," Hermione said.

"I saw so many people killed and tortured. You wouldn't believe the things I saw in my own home of all places."

"You wouldn't believe the things we saw that last year either. His damn snake became an old lady for Merlin's sake."

"Merlin, that snake." He shook his head, which was a mistake. His vision blurred and his thoughts jumbled. "I think I'm very on my way to drunkenness," he told her as he slid to the floor. He crossed his legs as his eyesight began to focus, but the fog around his brain remained.

"I think we're both arriving at drunkenness." Hermione slid down next to him and they both leaned against the cabinets, still passing the bottle. "You ever wonder if things could have been different?"

"What sort of things?" he asked her, as he noticed that her skirt had ridden up as she moved to sit next to him and a healthy amount of her thigh was revealed. He could think of nothing more thrilling than the idea of putting her on the counter and feeling the skin of her thighs beneath his hands as he moved inside of her. The thought that she was Hermione Granger seemed to float somewhere in the recesses of his brain, but it didn't seem to mean much under the effects of his best firewhiskey.

"Well, what if there was no Voldemort, you know? I mean I doubt Harry and I would have been friends. He would have been an entirely different boy." Hermione let the empty bottle fall from her hand to the ground and watched it roll away. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Maybe I would have been in Ravenclaw, or something, and you and I could have studied together. Then I could have told you to never ever marry that Parkinson Pansy and we both would have saveded ourselves from horrible marriages."

He couldn't help but scoff at that. Even as smashed as he was getting, there was no way he could accept that lame story she'd just attempted to tell. "That's an awful scenario. There is no way it would have happened that way."

"Oh yeah! Well, what would have happened, you big smart tough Slythering guy?" She pulled her head up from his shoulder and stared into his eyes.

There was a moment of hesitation where he considered the fact that she was clearly plastered beyond all normal thought,that she was emotionally damaged and that she had been crying and possibly drinking before she arrived. In the end, Draco decided he could blame it all on the Firewhiskey in the morning. He pressed his lips against hers in a hungry fervor. He made no move to be gentle; instead he deepened the kiss instantly, moving his tongue around hers as if to pull her very soul from her body.

From there it was a mess of limbs as they fought with each other for the ends of clothing that needed to be removed immediately. He'd never been with Pansy like this. It was always soft and gentle, because that is what he thought she wanted. They always took the time to move back to the bedroom, no matter where they were, and he always spent the majority of the time making sure she was ready and enjoying herself. He'd been passionate and careful, with her.

As he watched Hermione fumble with his trousers, he lowered her to his kitchen floor, and he couldn't help but think that if he'd been presented with this opportunity during their marriage he might have cheated too. There were no tender touches, carefully placed kisses, or awkward first time pauses. Instead, he simply helped her shove her skirt up as quickly as possible and then let her push his down his own trousers.

Hermione's back hit the floor, and she gripped his shirt, pulling him down onto her. He clenched her hair tightly in one hand while the other supported him. Hermione's teeth grazed across his lip, and her tongue slid into his mouth. She tasted like firewhiskey and chocolate, and her hand gripped him, guiding his tip to her core. She arched against him, and he was lost to the world of heat between her thighs. All that mattered was moving inside of her, while she moaned the sweetest sounds he'd ever heard into his ear, and her nails dug into his back.

A/N: Thank you so so so so much for your reviews ! Keep them coming. I love hearing your thoughts and I can't wait to hear about how you feel about the way this chapter ended of course!

XOXO

Meg


	4. Chapter 4

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Over a year later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warnings: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Four: Retrieving A Wand**

As the first rays of morning light fell across the bed, Hermione Granger was just waking from a deep slumber. After a moment of regaining consciousness, she moaned from the pain beginning to escalate somewhere in her head and stretched her body only to find that her hand came into contact with something hairy. She opened her eyes immediately and sat up, startled to find Draco Malfoy still fast asleep beside her. His hair was shooting off in odd directions, his mouth slightly parted, his body bare against the sheets for the world, or at least for her, to see. With a sharp intake of breath, she realized that she was also without clothing. She pulled the covers up to cover her breasts, which she noticed were covered in small red marks, no doubt from the multiple times that he had sucked, licked, and bit at her the night before. She then realized that, as Malfoy was sleeping, there was no one in the room to actually see her breasts, and let the sheet fall back to her lap as she evaluated the situation.

She remembered her dinner last night, sobbing into Harry's shoulder, and then coming home, longing to not be alone anymore, and being furious with Ron. She then recalled the Firewhiskey and the talking ... and the sex. Oh, Merlin, the sex. The sex with Malfoy had been so random, so hot, so fast, so unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Ron had made wonderful, sensual, slow love to her many times, and each time was new and better than the time before, but never had it been anything like the wild abandon she'd experienced the night before. The simple fact that she shouldn't have even been in his apartment only seemed to make the idea of Malfoy wanting her as badly as she wanted him more erotic. She remembered the final time they had been together in this very bed, just hours before, and the words he had whispered into her ear. They had not been words of love or care, but they were filled with passion and lust. They were things that would have made Ron red with embarrassment. Well, honestly they had made her red with embarrassment, but it had been incredible.

It was a beautiful thing, lust. She had never in her entire life given herself over to it before, and now it seemed that she had been missing out on something she liked very much. She had loved Ron with everything she had, but when Draco had kissed her the night before it had been something new and entirely different. Her body had responded to him with a fervor that seemed to belong to someone else. She was sure it had a lot to do with the wine and the Firewhiskey, but she had wanted him. From the moment he leaned in, she had felt the overwhelming desire to have him inside of her, and that was terrifying.

She looked again at the naked body lying beside her, and he scared her. Two days ago, he was nothing but Malfoy, git extraordinaire and now she couldn't help but think about how much she just wanted to keep lying with him until he woke up, ready for another go. The very thought of staying to let him touch her again gave her a sudden sense of urgency to get the hell away from this place before he awoke.

Hermione climbed out of the bed slowly and walked towards the living room. She felt awkward walking around his apartment naked, but she wasn't about to waste time to grab one of Draco Malfoy's sheets or t-shirts to go find her clothes. That would give him more time to wake and find her there. So, she was quick in her movements to gather and put on her clothes in the kitchen. Her purse was discarded in the living room, and her shoes were by his front door. Without a moment of hesitation, she left him still sleeping and headed for her own apartment, all the while her head pounding to remind her of her idiocy.

It wasn't until she was standing outside of her own door that she realized her mistake. She had left her wand in his room on his bedside table. With a giant groan she walked back to his apartment, willing the door to open for her, but it remained shut as it was made to open for one thing and one thing only; Draco Malfoy's wand, which happened to be in his room right beside hers. She considered knocking for all of a single second before she turned for the lift and took it down to the lobby, opting for a few more hours of Malfoy free time before she was faced with the inevitable confrontation. Grateful that it was still early and no one would see her in her disheveled state, Hermione used the fire to floo to Harry and Ginny's home and prayed that they wouldn't ask too many questions.

XXX

When Hermione arrived that morning, she was greeted with the sounds of her youngest godson crying. "Ginny?" she called out to the house and was surprised when Ginny moved into the room immediately bouncing Al on her hip.

"Hermione? What the bloody hell happened to you?" she asked, shock apparent in her eyes as she observed her friend.

"Is it that bad? I'm locked out of my apartment; you think I can wash up here?" She knew the next question that Ginny was going to ask before it even bridged her lips.

"Where is your wand?"

Hermione crossed the room and shrugged. "I left it somewhere."

Ginny frowned at Hermione. "You left it somewhere?"

"Yes, I left it somewhere!" Hermione looked towards the door when James came running into the room.

"MOMMY! I MADE A WAFFLE ALL BY MYSELF, MOMMY!" he screamed excitedly, and Ginny paled.

"James!" She held Albus out to Hermione and rushed into the kitchen after her son was safely in her friend's arms.

"Hi, James," Hermione said, kneeling to the floor and reaching her free arm out to hug him.

"Auntie Herminny, you look bad," James said scrunching his face, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"I know, and thank you for being honest, James. Let's go help mommy in the kitchen."

She grabbed his hand and took both of the boys through the hall and into the kitchen where Ginny was flicking her wand around in a very Mrs. Weasley manner. "I've got to get them fed and to my mother. Merlin knows why anyone would volunteer to watch my boys all day. If you help, you can use the shower, but I'm not letting this wand thing go," she said in a deflated tone as Hermione set the children in their high chairs.

XXX

An hour later, Hermione climbed out of the shower and dried her body with an oversized towel Ginny had set on the counter for her. She couldn't help but stare at herself and the marks on her skin in the mirror for a full minute before walking away, shaking her head slightly. She couldn't imagine what she was going to say to Ginny about Draco Malfoy and their night together. Perhaps, she could just say that she'd fallen asleep on the couch and nothing happened, but in her haste to leave she left her wand. She almost snorted in laughter at the thought of this scenario compared to the one that actually took place.

As she slipped on jeans and a jumper, Hermione silently thanked Harry for suggesting she keep a few things at their house during the time when she had been a frequent house guest after the divorce. It would be strange to wear muggle clothing to work, but ultimately better than facing Draco Malfoy this early in the morning. Without her wand, Hermione was a bit concerned with her hair, but she dried it the best she could with the towel and tried to use some of Ginny's products to get it to stay in a clip. It was, however, a lost cause from the start, and by the time Ginny returned home Hermione was sipping at coffee through a mass of hair.

"Oh, Hermione!" Ginny squealed, laughing in a manner that made Hermione quite resentful of her friend until, with a flick of her wand, Ginny tamed her locks to curls and she could see again.

"Thanks," Hermione mumbled into her coffee. She watched her friend pour herself a cup and waited until she was seated next to her until she became nervous.

"So?" Ginny asked, making it very clear with that single word that she wanted to know exactly what had happened the night before.

"So, I went home," Hermione told her, the truth if not exactly the whole one.

"And, then?" Ginny asked, her eyes piercing into Hermione's.

"And, then, I didn't want to be alone," Hermione whispered, though she wasn't exactly sure why. There was no one left to hear her but her friend. "I went next door for a drink."

Lines formed around Ginny's eyes and mouth as she figured out exactly what Hermione was telling her. "Oh my … Please tell me you didn't sleep with him." This came out as a harsh whisper that seemed to sting Hermione as if she had been slapped.

"I …" She tried to find the right words, but it wasn't possible. She couldn't seem to string together a logical reason. "I was drunk and mad."

Ginny stood up and started walking out of the kitchen. "Where are you going?" Hermione yelled after her.

"Stay here!" Ginny told her. "I'll be right back." Hermione had no intention of staying there, however, and was at the fireplace as soon as Ginny was gone. She threw in the floo powder, but nothing happened. It was not difficult for Hermione to piece together what had happened. Ginny had gone to get her wand and closed the wards Harry always had around their home. Hermione was stuck until her friend returned, hopefully with her wand. She shuddered to think what Ginny was going to do to Malfoy. She found she was actually a bit worried her friend might lose all sense and murder him if he said the wrong thing. She silently prayed that he would remember the result of a quick flick of Ginny Weasley's wand.

XXX

Draco Malfoy was never really a morning person. He preferred to sleep late and stay up late, and thus was his course of action that very day. Just as Ginny Potter was returning to her kitchen that morning, looking for answers, Draco was waking up in his bed, alone. He stirred and was immediately met with a pounding headache. He reached for his wand lazily hoping to ease his pain, but when he muttered the charm, after feeling the cool wood fall uneasily into his hand, nothing happened. He spoke the words again, but again nothing happened.

He forced his eyes to open slightly and stared at the wand in his hand. It was clearly not his. Instead of investigating this further, he found that his own wand was still sitting on the nightstand. He gripped it with his free hand and this time, after the charm was cast, he felt the fog clearing from his mind and the throbbing died down to a gentle pulse every so often. He then looked at the wand in his other hand and examined it.

He wondered who it belonged to for a few short moments before he saw her face flash before his eyes, remembering how she tossed it on his nightstand and stood beside the bed, her hands on her hips, his shirt falling over her skin loosely. He'd decided that even the simple cotton t-shirt was too much fabric between them. He had pulled her towards him then, and hadn't let her go until he'd had his way with her once again, murmuring things that would have made even his mother blush. They must have fallen asleep together.

"Shit," he said in a tone characteristic of someone who had spent the evening sleeping with an old enemy, but his lips curled into a small smile. He crawled off his bed and grabbed a pair of pants from a drawer. After he'd covered himself, he began the search for Granger, as she would without a doubt need her wand to get into her apartment and get ready for work. Seeing as how there were only four rooms she could be hiding in, it didn't take him longer than a few minutes to realize she'd left the apartment already. He headed for the door, thinking that without her wand, she was most likely waiting in the hall for him to wake up and give it back. He was surprised therefore when he opened it and found Potter's wife looking back at him with a glare that threatened to scare him into slamming the door in her face.

"Give it to me," she told him sharply, and he couldn't help but notice she sounded and looked like a mother chiding her child.

"Where is Granger? She couldn't come get her wand on her own? Had to send Mummy to get it?"

"I came of my own accord after she informed me of its location. Speaking of such, you better keep away from her, Malfoy. I may be a _Mummy_ now, but I haven't lost one ounce of my talent and you'd do well to remember just what I can do." Malfoy needed no explaining to get her point.

"If your brother had done his job right as her husband, there would be no reason to worry about me staying away from her. She's a big girl," he snapped at her, turning Hermione's wand in his left hand all the while.

"You know nothing about Ron and Hermione's marriage!" Ginny barked, her skin tinged a light red now.

"I know much more than you think. Here you are, Weaslette," he said, holding out Hermione's wand to her. "Be sure to extend my gratitude to Granger for last night."

"You have no idea what you are getting yourself into. You have no idea what happened to them or what they went through. It's a story to you, something that happened to other people too long ago for you to understand what it did to her. She doesn't need this crap from you. Why don't you stick to ruining your own life and leave Hermione's alone." Ginny snatched the wand from him. "Ferret." She turned, fuming, towards the lift, anger coursing through her veins. Admittedly, the anger was mostly at herself for falling to his level with petty fighting and name-calling.

 **A/N: Thank you for sticking around and reading ! Hope you like this chapter … Review review review … I eat them up for breakfast :)**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	5. Chapter 5

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: I have the best three beta's in the world. They keep me smiling, laughing, and go way past editing this so it can be in much, much better condition when it makes it to you.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Five: Ron Reunited**

A half-hour after the Weaselette's departure from his apartment, Draco Malfoy had showered, shaved, and dressed in the finest robes his bountiful salary from Gringotts could buy. He took the first drink from his mug just as he turned his Daily Prophet to page four. For a moment, it seemed to be the same gossip ridden drabble that page four always was. Then, he saw a picture of Hermione Granger and himself walking into their apartment building together the day before, followed by the headline, ' _Malfoy Divorce Uncloaked_.' Draco then proceeded to choke on his coffee and, once recovered, began to read.

' _Malfoy Divorce Uncloaked_.'

 _After months of waiting for the other highly polished shoe to drop, it seems the Wizarding World has finally been rewarded for their patience with the scandal of the century surrounding Draco Malfoy's divorce from Pansy Parkinson. Three months ago, when Malfoy filed for his separation with the Ministry, it was under a murmur that his wife had been less than faithful. The wizarding community was fed the story that Parkinson currently has residence in Paris, France where she is living with a man that is certainly not her husband, but now it is safe to say Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy had no fault in the demise of her marriage._

 _Instead, its roots lie in another divorce, which took place one year ago, between two members of the trio accredited with the downfall of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. In this particular incident, Hermione Granger filed for her divorce from Ron Weasley just months after the loss of their unborn child. At the time, covered by family and friends, Granger and Weasley did not comment on the reasons behind their divorce, but their loss was considered a major factor. Due to a private source, we now have reason to believe this to be untrue._

 _In fact, we now know that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy had more in common than a desire for the quick and quiet end of their respective marriages. It seems that their motive behind the ends of their marriages was actually their long time affair, which began months before Granger filed her divorce with the Ministry, and has since continued throughout the past year. As unbelievable as this seems, according to reliable sources, the couple, once known for their animosity towards one another in their days at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, are now living together on Diagon Alley in a fairly new building called, 'The Snitch's Secret.'_

 _This, and other buildings of its nature, are usually reserved for high profile tenants and are known to have surly guards who will stop at nothing, even assault, to keep innocent visitors away. The residence of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy aside, the new pair are keeping busy. Plans of a wedding as soon as the Malfoy divorce is final have leaked, along with rumors of a child soon joining their odd family. It seems that Granger and Malfoy will spare neither of their previous spouses the pain of watching them live happily ever after, no matter the cost to those who love them._

 _-_ _ **Rita Skeeter**_

It took Draco two and a half minutes to finish reading the article, and the only thing running through his mind at the end of this disastrous read was that his job was seriously at stake. As junior manager of Gringotts, he was in charge of the greatest account Gringotts handled, the Ministry of Magic. The largest part of Draco's job was to maintain the funds in each department of the Ministry. This required long hours spent both at Gringotts and with the higher ups at the Ministry. Any suspicious spending was his responsibility. Every single galleon, down to the very last knut that left or entered the Ministry's pocket was Draco's responsibility. Each law that affected the way the Ministry spent, allocated, donated, or received money, even when paying their employees, was Draco's charge.

The general job requirements were down to three things:

One) He must keep in good standing with the manager of the bank, a Goblin by the name of Gangoek. This was basically a clause to be sure that Gangoek could fire him without reason.

Two) He must keep in good standing with Gringotts, the Ministry, and the Wizarding World at large. This clause was the very reason that Draco Malfoy had been trying so hard to keep his divorce as expedited and confidential as possible. Being in the center of the largest marriage scandal in years certainly would not have been 'keeping in good standing.' He had nearly risked getting in trouble for this particular job requirement with his scene in The Leaky Cauldron; the day he found out about Pansy's affair.

Three) He must get the job done, whatever it took. As the junior manager of Gringotts, Draco had every expectation of discretion, and consequently, did not have to abide by the same laws as normal wizards when performing his duties. It was imperative that he kept his mouth shut, and made sure that The Prophet and nosy Ministry officials never caught wind of any less than desirable activities that may or may not occur in relation to the bank. In such case, both rules one and two would be violated by pissing of Gangoek and blemishing the record Draco Malfoy had worked so hard to clean.

Fortunately before today, Pansy had been only too willing to keep the approaching end of their marriage between the two of them, hoping that she could salvage the pieces before it was final. It seemed that all of this changed when Hermione pissed her off and gave her a chance to turn the divorce against him instead. As his wife, Pansy stood at his side through thick and thin, and was well aware of the conditions of his position at Gringotts. She had obviously chosen to attack what she knew had always meant the most to him. Well, she meant the most to him right up until he figured out that her shopping trips to France were a ruse to visit her lover, of course. After this discovery, his job took top rung of the ladder, and she was pushed right off of it to the ground.

XXX

Hermione waited for Ginny while she paced quickly around the kitchen table. She had no idea what she was going to do. Ron was going to kill her. Mrs. Weasley was never going to talk to her again. She would never be able to go back to work without someone staring at her and thinking those horrible things about her. The worst of all of it was that there was an inkling of truth behind the story printed about her in the paper; because of last night. She never even considered cheating on Ron, and Malfoys' marriage was over months before their drunken night, but they had slept together, and now the entire Wizarding World was finding out over their breakfast.

Ginny appeared with a slam of the kitchen door and handed Hermione her wand with a red face. "THAT MAN!" she bellowed, falling into a seat at the table. She seemed too caught up in her own fury to realize Hermione had resumed her circle of the table.

"Gin, read this," Hermione told her desperately, setting the paper in front of her friend without breaking stride. Ginny pulled The Prophet closer to herself and began to read. With each passing moment, her face turned a bit more pink and her jaw hinged further open.

Once she finished, she handed the paper back to Hermione and stared at her, lost. "Who would spread such a lie about you?"

"It has to be Parkinson, doesn't it? I mean no one even knows Malfoy is my neighbor but you, Harry, and Pansy. No one else that cares anyway, and I don't think this was Harry's doing. He's never really been one to talk to The Prophet, always preferred The Quibbler didn't he? What am I going to do, Gin?" Hermione groaned, allowing herself to fall into the chair next to Ginny's.

"Go to work," Ginny told her. "Go, or it will look even more suspicious. I'll go see Harry about this mess, and you go to work. He'll have an idea of what to do. I'll throttle Rita Skeeter with my own two hands if I have to."

"What did _he_ have to say?" Hermione asked, raising her wand and setting it down on the table.

"Ugh," Ginny sighed and shook her head. "He's still a prat."

"What did YOU say to him, Gin? You shouldn't have gone over there." Hermione tried her best to glare at the other woman, but she was only sort of mad at her. Ginny really shouldn't have left and she certainly shouldn't have locked Hermione out of the floo, but a small part of her was relieved to have her wand back without having to see Malfoy. She could still see him asleep in that bed, still feel how much she had wanted to stay with him, and it still scared her.

"I told him to leave you the hell alone," Ginny said indignantly.

"You know, I went to HIS flat," Hermione insisted.

"Yes, well, he clearly took advantage of you when you were …"

"He did not," Hermione cut her off, "and if he did, then it was because _I_ wanted him to."

"Oh, Merlin, Hermione," Ginny groaned, and her head dropped into her arms.

"He seems different," Hermione said defensively.

Ginny's head popped back up at this. "You've should have heard him going on about Ron."

"He doesn't know anything about Ron and me."

"I know, and I told him as much."

"Look, I'm not going to see him again like that, obviously." As she spoke, a small part of Hermione hoped that was a lie. "But he's my neighbor, and we're going to have to deal with this." She pointed at the paper. "Just try not to fly off the handle again, okay? I'm an adult."

"Okay, but, honestly Hermione, you were in such a rush to get away this morning that you left your wand at his place. Clearly you weren't in a very _adult_ frame of mind then."

"I'll admit I'm a little freaked out. It's not like I ever thought I would … with him … but, still it's my choice or mistake or whatever to make."

"Fine," Ginny said, clearly exasperated.

XXX

Hermione walked through the Ministry an hour after she left the Potter's house, and made sure to keep her pace as brisk as possible without making a larger scene than her appearance already seemed to be causing. She had no idea where to even start cleaning up the mess that was printed on page four of The Prophet, still clutched in her hand. As she passed, wizards and witches, of all ranks and power, followed her with their eyes for a single moment of disgust before turning back to their work.

When she finally reached her office, after the longest ride in the lift of her life, her assistant stopped her. "Ms. Granger, you have about an 'undred messages and your ex-'usband is in your office. I asked him to wait out 'ere but he kept pacing back an' forth, back an' forth, and I couldn't 'andle it anymore, so I sent 'im on inside."

Hermione looked straight at the door for a full minute before speaking. "Sort through the messages. Deal with the ones you can, send me the rest after you arrange them in order of urgency. And, help me try to find a way to fix this," she told him shaking her Prophet in the air. "It's complete thestral shit, so find me someone to talk to at The Daily Prophet. Keep everyone out of my office while Ron is here. He's probably going to have a nasty temper this morning," she finished.

"An' the calls? I've been saying 'no comment', but I'm not sure 'ow long I can 'old 'em off."

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "I suppose just keep that up for now. I don't know what else we could say except that it is indeed shit." Hermione continued to stare at the door in front of her. After a moment's hesitation, she turned the knob and walked into her office to meet her ex-husband.

XXX

At first, Hermione thought Ron had left her office after all, but, at the sound of robes rustling, her eyes were drawn to the dark corner by her bookshelves. Ron moved towards her then, and held a copy of the paper out to her as her own copy fell out of her hand and onto her desk. "Is this true?" Ron demanded, his ears turning red as his hands shook.

"I don't see how that would be any of your business, Ronald," Hermione snapped at him, trying to keep her voice steady as Lavender Brown snogging Ron at Hogwarts kept popping into her head.

"None of my business, is it?" Ron scoffed and moved the paper in front of himself. "... _Their long time affair, which began months before Granger filed her divorce with the Ministry and has since continued throughout the past year_ ," Ron read the words in a mocking tone, and then stared at her, hard and unforgiving. "Is this where you were all those nights you never came home? Shagging Draco bloody Malfoy instead of coming home to me? Is this why you left? Now that isn't enough and the pair of you have finally decided to do the thing proper?"

Hermione listened to Ron's scenario with disbelief on her face. "You're an idiot," she told him, reminding herself of how she used to be, years ago, when they would fight back at Hogwarts, and Ron would go completely off the deep end. "Do you really think I was cheating on you? I love you more than anyone else ever has, and you dare to claim I gave up on you to become Malfoy's mistress?" After everything they had been through, Hermione still loved Ron as much as she had the day she first kissed him, but now it was seasoned and veiled with loss and pain that ran deeper than she ever thought possible.

"Then tell me you are not sleeping with him. Look in my eyes and tell me you never have and you never will shag Malfoy."

She could tell from the look in his eyes he hadn't really believed a word in the Prophet, but it was in his nature to over-react. Hermione considered obliging his request for a moment before she remembered he had gotten Lavender pregnant and moved her into their flat. Her fury flared again. "Well, I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm not marrying him, and I never so much as kissed him while we were married, but I can't say what you're asking of me."

The red in Ron's ears spread to his cheeks and he opened his mouth to retort when the door to Hermione's office opened and Draco came striding in, followed by Hermione's assistant, who looked rather harried. "Hermione we need to talk, darling." Hermione knew he had added this last bit to piss off Ron, and it was clearly working.

"Ron, look, if you need to talk we'll go out for lunch or something, but right now I need to clean this up," she told him pointing at the paper on her desk. "Please just go for now, okay?" For a moment, she thought he would refuse, but instead he simply turned and headed toward the door of her office. By the time Hermione realized what he was going to do, he had his fist flying. All Hermione could do was listen to the unnatural sound of crunching cheek and nose as Draco fell to the floor, followed by Ron's immediate departure as he shook his clearly aching hand.

 **A/N: You all seemed pretty passionate about Ginny and Draco last chapter. Haha. I hope this helps a wee bit, but even if it doesn't, Ginny is a passionate person. These people aren't perfect and they are going to make mistakes, but we can love them anyway!**

 **I am LOVING your reviews. Please keep it up! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	6. Chapter 6

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: My beta's are pretty much the most amazing ever. You should be jealous. Very jealous. And grateful. Very grateful. They make this thing actually readable. Thank you so much ErisAceso, , & RooOJoy. **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Six : A Statement**

At the sight of Draco's battered face, Hermione couldn't help but be reminded of the time he destroyed Harry's nose on the Hogwarts Express so many years ago. As she waved her wand above him, she didn't even bother to hide the smile stretching across her lips at the thought that karma had come back to bite the blonde man in the arse.

"I'm glad your ex-husband breaking my nose is so amusing for you." He stood once she finished and winced in pain when he reached to touch his nose.

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled his hand away from his face. "You'll be sore for a few hours, so leave it alone. You can't tell me you don't find irony in the situation, Malfoy."

"Ah, we're back to last names. How professional, though after the paper this morning, I really do think you ought to call me Draco. Usually, people who are madly in love call each other things like darling and sweetheart, but I think that might be a bit too much for me to take." His smirk was back, and Hermione chose to ignore his words and the fact that he, literally, just called her darling. She crossed to walk around her desk, putting it between her and Draco.

"I think we have more important things to talk about than what I'm calling you these days; for example, this article." At her words, she held the paper up for him to see and then let it fall back to her desk. "Do you have any ideas?" She was mortified by the article, but she couldn't help but appreciate that having a problem to fix would make this conversation slightly less awkward. At least they had something to talk about other than the two of them having sex on his kitchen floor.

"Several." Draco fell into the chair in front of her desk and placed his hands in his lap. He looked rather like he was at home in a lounger, and not on one of the most uncomfortable chairs Hermione had ever had the displeasure of sitting in. "We can go along with the story and tell everyone we've seen the error of our ways and called off the wedding."

"That is ridiculous! We didn't do a bloody half of what is in this article!" Hermione was outraged that he had even suggested such a thing. Who in their right mind would want to admit that they had cheated on their wife for years, especially when they had done no such thing?

Draco held up his hands then and frowned. "Look, Granger, I'm not too fond of that option either, so we move on. Our next option is that we ignore it. We do nothing, say nothing, and live our lives as if this article never happened."

Hermione considered this for a moment and then sighed. "That doesn't really help either. The entire Wizarding World will still believe it if we ignore it. They will consider it an admission. I bloody hate Rita Skeeter." She added this last sentence under her breath and silently cursed the journalist for registering her little secret with the ministry. Hermione was sure that this decision had had a lot to do with her. In the past, it had made her feel empowered to know that she had scared Rita into going public with the information, but now it just made her feel powerless.

Draco nodded, "I agree. We could, therefore, tell the truth. You and Ron split because of the baby, Pansy and I split because of her adultery, not mine, and we had no relationship before last night. The only problem with this option is that my boss is still going to be pissed, and in the end we still end up together, so most people won't believe it."

"Your boss?"

"He's a nice little piece of work named Gangoek, and he has the right and means to fire me for any little thing. This is a big thing, and he's not going to be happy. My job requires someone with a clean record, something I'm not really known for, but I'm good at my job. So, If I keep my issues and sticky situations quiet I keep my job, if not I'm out. Pansy's gone and fucked that up. She's the only one who knew how important my image is to my job."

Hermione frowned at him and shrugged. "What does it really matter? You don't need to work, certainly."

"Of course, I don't need to work. My family has more money than you could ever dream of seeing, but I happen to know for a fact that you have enough money to support yourself for the next hundred years, and yet here you are, right in the middle of the Ministry of Magic, making the world a better place." Malfoy waved his arm around her office to emphasize his point as she glared at him with disgust.

"You've been snooping around my accounts?" Hermione stood up and pressed her palms onto her desk. "What makes you think you have the right …?"

"Lay off, Granger. It was a long time ago. I was curious what war heroes pull in. But, it doesn't matter, the point is I work because if I didn't I would go crazy. Can you imagine living the next eighty years doing nothing every day? No purpose, no point, no job, nothing?"

Hermione nodded her understanding but didn't take her seat again. Instead, she moved away from him to her bookcases. Her fingers fell against the spines in a rhythm that had been familiar to her from the time she had learned the magic of the written word. None of these books could help her now. She was realizing as she got older, that her life was becoming one large problem after another, and all the reading in the world couldn't fix the real problems in life. It made her feel lost and insecure, but mostly it made her feel dumb, something she had rarely felt in her life and always been able to rectify quickly.

"You obviously have an idea, or you wouldn't be here." She stopped her hand and pulled it back. "If your idea involved denial you wouldn't have come to my office. So, what is it? What version of the truth is it that we'll be spinning?"

Draco shook his head and avoided looking at her. "I have no idea what we should do. My current vote is we avoid the topic of our past relationships and make a joint statement that we are neighbors. Other than that, any option seems to put us as the guilty party."

"And, what about Pansy? Does she walk away smelling like roses?" Hermione demanded, infuriated that this cruel prank may be working in favor of her old schoolmate.

"No. I stopped in to see the member of the Wizengamot who's assigned to our case on my way to your office. She's shattered our previous claims that neither of us was at fault for our marriage falling apart. He and I agreed that instead of the settlement I was offering, she will be receiving nothing. I can easily prove her affair. With any luck, she'll disappear off to France with her idiot and leave me to fix my tattered reputation, again." Hermione felt herself fighting a smirk at the thought of Pansy living the life of a poor, struggling, artist's wife. It was very amusing indeed.

Hermione then recalled exactly what it meant that Draco was requesting a divorce from the Wizengamot and decided to try and give him a bit of support. "Ron and I were the first divorce in the Wizarding World in seventeen years. I'm very sorry that you have to go through what we did."

Draco smiled at this. Not a smirk, not a condescending turn of the lips, a real smile. "Pansy and I are the first pureblood marriage to officially separate before death in sixty-eight years. Last time, the woman who requested the end of her marriage for extreme physical abuse never went out in public again. She died in her house alone, after forty years of living like that. The other purebloods just didn't think she was right in the head and went about making sure the entire Wizarding World knew it."

Hermione found herself horrified at his story. "They wouldn't … I mean, Pansy?" As much as she detested Pansy, she would never wish that upon anyone. Forty years of sitting in the same house, never leaving, never breathing fresh air, feeling the warmth of sunlight, or the chill of snow. That was no way to live or die.

"She'll be fine. Especially if she moves to France like I've told her to. No one will risk the fact that I might still love her enough to have them killed, or ruined. I am still a Malfoy you know, these things do happen." This seemed to horrify Hermione, who was now returning to her seat, almost more than his story had. "Not that I would kill them, Granger," he added reassuringly.

"Of course not," Hermione replied, looking slightly doubtful. "So, about our statement . . ."

Draco pulled a piece of paper out of the air and handed it to her. "I drafted this before I left the house, and I think it more than does the job. This morning, I also let the doorman know we needed to talk to our landlord about him verifying that we are indeed both renting from him separately, and that he had no reason to believe we were interested in living in the same building."

Hermione read over the paper in her hands and found that Draco Malfoy could be a very eloquent person when he put his mind to it. She was expecting a few sentences, and instead, found a few paragraphs detailing their obvious hatred for each other in the past, and affirming the fact that they had hardly seen each other since they left Hogwarts after the Final Battle. The disclosure then explained, that they ran into each other in Diagon Alley that afternoon, certainly not an unlikely incident, and decided to walk to their building together. They were able to be friendly towards one another, but it was nothing more than neighborly kindness. The explanation was explicit; they were not considering dating or marriage, nor were they planning to have any children of any sort - either separately or together.

XXX

Draco watched Hermione read the statement that he had written. As she read, her hand moved to the back of her neck and rubbed, pulling back her hair enough to reveal the nape of her neck to him. He remembered the way that she responded to his lips on that creamy skin and struggled to control the way his body wanted to react. The night before seemed almost unreal to him, but he could tell from the flush of her cheeks and the way she avoided looking directly into his eyes, that she was thinking about it as well.

He wanted to know why she left. Maybe she was embarrassed, but it was without reason. It had been good. It had been excellent actually, which surprised him. Well, he wasn't necessarily surprised that she had been so damn good - she was fit, any man would say the same - but more that they had been so damn good together. The first round on the kitchen floor was fast and desperate. He hardly had time to enjoy the taste of her skin or the feel of her nails on his back before he came undone.

Afterwards, she pulled his t-shirt over her head instead of re-dressing in her own clothes, and he kissed her again pushing her against the counter, and pulled her up to sit on it. She moaned and pushed her hips into him. He was intent on proving to her that he could do the thing properly, and she was only too willing to let him carry her to the couch where he dropped her roughly, before moving over her again to claim her mouth. He bit her bottom lip as she arched in frustration. He chuckled then as he moved down, shoving his shirt up to reveal her stomach which he kissed as well, moving slowly down to his destination.

His eyes were taking in the curve of her arse in her muggle jeans when he realized she was holding out the parchment for him to take. "So?" he asked as he tried to act like he hadn't been blatantly imagining her without her clothes on.

"I think it's perfect, and I like how you left out that we're next door neighbors," she told him honestly.

He nodded, "I thought it would be better to leave that bit out." He stood and smiled again. He wanted to see her again. Now that he knew what they were like together, there was no way he was willingly going back to not seeing or talking to her. "Would you like to have dinner with me on Saturday?" he inquired. She looked at him carefully, disbelief etched on her face. He almost wanted to laugh.

"Pardon?" she asked, probably hoping she had misheard.

"Dinner, Granger. Dinner with me on Saturday?" As he spoke, Draco stood and moved towards the door. He wasn't planning on giving her much of an option to think it through or turn him down.

"Why?"

"Because, I think I want to take you on a date." He had been thinking this since he woke that very morning. Well, after he rid himself of his headache, of course. She was a pretty woman, intelligent, rich, and, as of last night, he knew that being in bed, or on the floor, with her would never be boring.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Hermione once again held up the Prophet to make her point.

"We'll go to a muggle restaurant. No one will recognize us. You aren't a hero there, just another pretty lady having dinner with a devilishly handsome man." His hand was on the doorknob, turning it slowly.

"You sure know how to knock a girl off her feet, Malfoy."

"You would know." He smirked at her one last time. "I'll be by at eight on Saturday, and Granger?"

"Yes?" She said softly, still staring at him.

"This time, you don't get to leave without waking me first." He left her office with the image of the deep blush in her cheeks to get him through the rest of what was sure to be an unpleasant day at work.

XXX

"A statement?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrow as he questioned Hermione over lunch that afternoon. They were sitting in his kitchen again, eating with Ginny.

"Yes, a statement just saying things like 'We royally hate each other's arses.'" Hermione saw Ginny frown at this, and she knew in that moment that her friend had not told her husband where Hermione had spent the night.

Harry looked somber but nodded. "I suppose that'd be a way to go about it, though I still don't understand why you can't have Ron and Pansy come forward and say …"

"Pansy is the reason this is an issue. Do you really think she's going to be the one to fix it?" Hermione asked, though not unkindly. She knew that Harry was just trying to help.

"Yes, well Ron would surely …?" Harry trailed off then as if to give Hermione a chance to finish his sentence. Clearly, Harry hadn't spoken to Ron yet either.

Hermione took a bite of her sandwich as she tried to decide the best way of letting Harry know what transpired in her office that morning. Ron probably wasn't going to be in the mood to help either of them anytime soon, not after discovering she and Draco had slept together. "I don't think Ron would …"

"Sure, he would." It was Ginny this time. Why hadn't Hermione briefed her on the events of this morning? If she had, Ginny would have been on her side, but now it seemed she was going to have to tell Harry what happened. Who knew how he would react?

"No." Hermione shook her head and took a drink of her pumpkin juice.

Ginny sighed heavily and gave Hermione a look that clearly told her Ginny thought she was refusing Ron's help because of Lavender. "He still loves you, Hermione. He knows why you left, he isn't a total idiot. He would help if you asked him."

"He came to see me this morning." Hermione looked at her plate to keep herself from looking at either of them. Her fork pushed at her vegetables, and she waited for a reaction.

"Ron?" Harry asked. "Ron came to see you?"

"Yes, and so did Malfoy. Ron and I got into an argument, you see, and … well … I told him the truth." Hermione kept her eyes on her sandwich and veggies, but her ears picked up Ginny's gasp.

"No," she heard the other woman whisper, and she nodded.

"I was so angry, and he was going on like we were teenagers again, and I told him." Hermione finally looked up to see Harry's confusion and Ginny's surprise.

Harry decided to try to speak then. "You mean, it's true?" He was quiet and his voice was steady, but Hermione supposed that he was forcing this.

"No. No, Harry. You know I never cheated on Ron, but last night…" she trailed off and let Harry finish her sentence in his mind.

Harry looked at his wife then, and Ginny told him, "She went to Malfoy's last night after we told her about Ron and Lavender."

Hermione didn't look away this time. She watched Harry as his head moved to stare at her, open mouthed. It was several long minutes before he spoke. "I suppose, well... I mean to... it's not.. it's your business Hermione, who, you … well … who you are with." Hermione couldn't help it. She felt a tear falling down her face then and put her hands over her eyes to cover them.

A moment later, she felt Ginny's arms wrap around her. Her friend squeezed her as she spoke into Hermione's hair. "It's all right," she said. "Everything will be all right."

But, it wasn't all right. Hermione knew that. Everyone she knew, including Ron, likely hated her now and she was apparently dating Malfoy, a man she still thought of by his last name, a man she barely knew as more than a boy. She wiped at her face as Ginny pulled back and huffed out a breath. "Sorry," she mumbled. She didn't want to have to go back to work, or face Ron, or figure out what it meant that she was actually really looking forward to seeing that git again on Saturday.

"It's fine, Mione." Harry reached over and squeezed her hand. "Are you … and him …"

"No," Hermione said suddenly, and she nearly cringed at the look of relief on his face. He was doing his best to be supportive, but she knew that neither Ginny or Harry would really ever accept her being with Malfoy. "I have to get back to work." She pulled up from the table to their protests, but she waved her hand. "It's just a madhouse today with the article. I'll see you both soon."

 **A/N: Hey All ! I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying this story. It means so much to me when you review, even if it's only a word or two. I love it !**

 **I think the only question from the reviews in the last chapter was how long you have to wait for an update. I update this story on Thursdays, so each week you get one chapter. I know it's hard to wait but I would fall dreadfully behind if I tried to post any faster right now. I'm finishing my coursework for the semester today and I will be investing my class time into writing time so maybe that will change, but for now I'm going to stick to a Thursday posting schedule.**

 **Thank you for sticking around and let me know what you think of this chapter !**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	7. Chapter 7

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: Thank you to my beautiful beta's, ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy, for your time and love nurturing this story to a place where people might want to read it. You are extraordinary. **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Seven : The Letters**

The next few days were odd for Hermione Granger as she dreaded and awaited Saturday's arrival. After their statement was posted in The Daily Prophet, with an additional paragraph from the building's manager, she was able to walk at a normal pace again and found herself the target of fewer glares with each passing day. She even received an owl from Mrs. Weasley explaining that the elder woman personally sent an owl to Rita Skeeter letting her know exactly what she thought of her writing skills. She then went on to invite Hermione to dinner at the Burrow, stating that 'the whole family' would be there. Hermione tried to keep the Weasley's a large part of her life since her divorce, but she found that it was impossible to keep away from Ron and be part of his family when they were all together. Instead, she stopped in to see each member of the family at various times, usually at work or a dinner at their separate homes. The only time she saw Molly was when Ginny invited them both over for lunch at the same time.

Everything that happened after The Prophet posted the follow-up article would have been great news, except, she was worrying about her dinner date, and the fact that she lied to Harry and Ginny about seeing Draco Malfoy again. She promised them that their night had been a fluke, the result of alcohol and misery brought on by Ron's unexpected news, and that she would be immediately reverting back to her previous state of being indifferent towards Malfoy - as she rightly should. Several times during the week, she considered sending Malfoy an owl to let him know that she could not accept his offer of a dinner for that Saturday, but each time she sat down to write to him, she felt his breath on her skin or his hands in her hair, and found that she was unable to turn him down. Even when he wasn't there to argue his case, her body did it for him. She thought that it was more likely that she missed these things, being touched, held, and kissed, than she actually wanted to be with Malfoy. After all, under the Firewhiskey and the misery, she had still been shagging Malfoy, and there was something very wrong with that.

Wasn't there?

Nevertheless, each night before bed, she stood in front of her closet and stared at her clothes, with a frown on her lips. What did you wear to a muggle restaurant when you were attending with someone you once hated, but were now very attracted to? Honestly, she had no idea whether Malfoy even knew of any muggle restaurants. Obviously, his parents hadn't taken him to any when he was a child, and why would he have had any reason to venture into the world of the undesirables during adulthood? Certainly, he didn't think that any old muggle could cook better than a wizard. He would probably trick her into eating in his apartment and then take advantage of her again. Hermione always laughed at herself at this and went back to trying to write her letter, only to leave the parchment blank.

The long moments before bed were the worst. If she moved, her sheets felt like the tips of his fingers running across her leg. If she sighed, she could feel her heart beat a little faster in her chest and was reminded of how it raced when he kissed her neck. If she closed her eyes, she could see him over her, moving into her as she arched against him, moaning his name, his first name. The result of this was usually that she got out of bed and took a shower, where she could relieve herself of pent up frustrations and imagine how it would be when she and Malfoy were together again. Because, as much as it pained her to admit it, she wanted him again. She wanted him so much, that several times she had to stop herself from knocking on his door and requesting that he touch her body until she lost all sense of what was right or wrong.

Fortunately, Hermione had more common sense and self-control than that. She was able to keep herself in her own apartment at night, mainly because she tried very hard not to be there. Staying late at work or spending more time at Harry and Ginny's with her godsons occupied her time, and kept her mind off a certain blonde that was consuming every spare moment of each day.

When Saturday arrived, Hermione was more than ready to see him, but at the same time, she dreaded it. She was determined to make the best of her day and try not to think about her date unceasingly before it actually happened. She found this impossible as she was on her own for the entire day, since Ron was spending the day at Harry and Ginny's.

After she took a shower, she sat at her kitchen counter pushing an egg around her plate with a piece of toast. She found her thoughts drifting, and compared them to the time she had been scorned for supposedly breaking Harry's heart. Her memories of her burning hands and the hate mail she received in her fourth year left her with a similar feeling that she now got from the glares thrown her way over the thoughts of her adultery. These thoughts eventually gave way to thoughts of Ron years after they had started dating, revealing to her that he once thought Hermione was in love with Harry as well. She laughed it off at the time, but thinking back she wondered if he had been hurt by that as well. What if she hadn't realized just how much her actions hurt him? What if simple things like laughing off something that obviously bothered him when they were kids had been part of the reason they hadn't been able to survive the blow of losing Rose.

Suddenly, without warning or preconceived desire to see them, Hermione wanted to read his letters that lay unopened in her desk drawer. She found herself wondering what Ron said all those times he tried to reach her while she was hiding from him. She wanted nothing more than to be filled with her own misery and pain and live her life alone. Deciding that there was no time like the present, Hermione put her half eaten breakfast in the trash and her dishes in the sink. She wasn't sure why, but she thought that if she was going to really deal with what happened between her and Ron she was going to have to find out what he needed to say to her in letters he very well knew she wasn't reading. It took her less than five minutes to finish getting ready and head out the door, bringing with her a bundle of nerves and anxiety.

The Ministry was bustling even on the weekends, and this Saturday was no exception. She smiled and waved at a few acquaintances, but her need to get to her office was much greater than her desire to be polite and stop to chat. Her assistant's desk was empty when she reached it, so she pushed the door to her office open, only to close it quickly behind her, and move to her desk without a second thought about what she was getting herself into. She pulled the bottom drawer of the right side open as soon as she took a seat on the floor next to it.

The letters sat there, waiting for someone to open them, to read the secret feelings of her ex-husband. Waiting to help her move on, or to help her destroy the progress she made over the last year. Now that she sat before them, it was easy to remember why she stuck them in here in the first place, fear. A fear that maybe Ron was the only man she would ever love as fiercely and easily as she once had. A fear that each letter would reopen the pain that she felt after she first left him. A memory of her standing sideways in front of the mirror, tears rolling down her face as she tried to remember the shape of her body when it had been swelled with their child. Another memory of Ron whispering to her stomach as they got ready for bed moved to replace the last. Ron's face when she told him that they were going to be parents topped them all, and the joy that he shared with her when they told their families and friends. Not for the first time, Hermione wondered if she had given up on her marriage too soon, left Ron for her own reasons, instead of for the right reasons. Maybe they had been strong enough, but she had not given them the chance to be. Maybe it was all her fault that all she had left from that time was a stack of letters in her desk drawer.

Hermione covered her face with her hands and started to breathe deeply to clear her head. Once she focused her thoughts again on the drawer in front of her, she moved her hands to grab the stack and pulled the very bottom letter from the rest. The side of the seal was still torn from when she started to open it the day Harry gave it to her. She had stopped herself before she could finish opening it and stuck it in the drawer instead, where it had stayed until this day. She waited another moment, knowing that as soon as the seal on the first letter was broken she wouldn't be able to stop reading. She ran her finger under the wax, tearing the parchment under it a little as she fumbled with her shaking hands. Her eyes absorbed the words almost all at once, and she had to force herself to read slow enough that she could understand what the letter said.

 _Hermione –_

 _I need you to know that I don't understand why you are gone. Harry says it's just that you need time, but I think it's more. I think I know you well enough to know that now that you've left, you aren't coming back to me. I was standing in Rose's room today, holding her blanket, the one you got to bring her home in, and it hit me that this is my fault. I wanted so badly for things to be right again that I couldn't admit that everything between us was going horribly wrong. I don't know what I'm going to do without you here to make sure that the world isn't crashing in around us. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and reach for you, but the bed is empty beside me. Then I remember that everything is so wrong and all I want to do is find you and let you know that everything that has ever mattered to me is empty without you. I love you so much, Hermione. I think I just need to know that you know that._

 _Ron_

His words were so simple, so utterly Ron, that she knew he had scribbled them down in haste and hadn't bothered to think about it before sending it to her. Her tears stained his writing as she reread the short note, and a pain that rivaled the worst she had ever felt exploded in her heart. The thought of him reaching for her, as he had so many times when they were married, pushed her to admit that she missed these small things about being with him. She missed waking up next to someone who cared about her. She missed having someone who knew her so well that there was hardly a reason for her to explain herself. She missed that he used to make her breakfast in the morning. She missed soft kisses and having someone hold her as she read her favorite book. She even missed fighting with him about the stupidest things imaginable. She missed laughing at his jokes, but most of all, more than any of these things, she missed being sure that someone loved her more than they loved anyone else in the entire world.

After the first one, the letters were longer and more planned out. She imagined Ron sitting at his desk in their apartment, biting the end of a quill, searching for the right way to tell her the things he wanted her to know. He told her about his family. He shared their news with them and updated her on their insane lives. Hermione knew all of this from speaking to them, but it was nice to know that he had wanted her to feel included, to still know what was going on with the people who she considered family for over ten years. Every once in awhile, he would write about a certain memory of them that had been stuck in his head, or something about Rose.

She found that he had written a letter dedicated entirely to Rose on the anniversary of the day they had lost her. Hermione read the words, which spoke of what he wanted for their daughter, with careful scrutiny and tried to keep her eyes from clouding as each word burned its way into her memory. He started by talking about nights they had never been woken by the cry of a beautiful girl from the nursery, and moved on to how everyone would have fawned over their beautiful girl. He then guessed that she would have made mischief with James, but never would have been caught, because she would have inherited her mother's brilliance. Next was her first trip to Hogwarts. They would take her to Platform 9 ¾ and he would have wanted to pick her up and take her back home and never let her leave the house so that she would always be safe, always be their little girl. But, she would have gone to school and used that brilliance and sneaky nature to stay at the top of the class, and one day they would have been awoken by her screaming because she had made head girl, and then Hermione would have started screaming and the two of them would have driven Ron to hide from their excited shrieks in the safety of a broom cupboard. Next, he spoke of the undeniable fact that Hermione's brilliant girl would have no doubt climbed the ladder of the Ministry and become the youngest Minister of Magic in a hundred years. And then, after she had a solid career she would have married some other genius, and given them a pair of the most beautiful grandchildren ever known. And, they through all of this, would have been happy and loved their daughter with a ferocity challenged only by their love of each other.

After she read this, Hermione clutched it to her chest and laid on her side on the floor of her office. As she stared at her desk, lost in her thoughts, her vision blurred with more of her tears. Her sobs shook her body. Ron was moving on. He was happy again, or so she hoped, even if it was with Lavender. He was having another baby, and she was lying on her office floor sobbing into the carpet. It hurt to think about how happy she had been before all of it. She loved their life. She had loved him, but after Rose, something inside of her broke, and it had been broken for a long time. She hadn't even realized she was living her life on autopilot until this moment, here on the floor, as she thought about what she really wanted out of her life.

She didn't really think Malfoy would end up being her forever, but he'd made her feel things that she hadn't felt in so long. She had forgotten that emotions outside of numb existed. He made her want something again, really want it, in a way that made her crazy. She wanted him. She didn't know what that meant or honestly how insane it was, but she knew it was true. She needed to feel alive again, and he was the person that seemed most able to help her do that. She stayed there like that, lying on the floor, crying, waffling between thoughts of the past and the future for so long that she fell asleep.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing ! I love reading them and I appreciate it!**

 **I hope that you enjoy this chapter and I'm sorry it is a little later in the day than normal. I'm dealing with a migraine and kind of forgot it was Thursday.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	8. Chapter 8

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beat Love: They are beautiful and incredible and I bow down to their amazing skills at helping me not look like a crazy person who should step away from the computer. ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, RooOJoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Eight : A First Date**

Hermione's office was pitch black when Draco pushed opened the door at eight-thirty that evening. She was a heap of dark shadows on the floor until he waved his wand, lighting the room immediately. It was clear then that she had fallen asleep amongst a pile of parchment, letters by the look of it. Due to his desire to know everything that was going on at all times, Draco could not resist bending down next to her and lift one of the sheets from the mess. His eyes traced her name and the words that followed until another name revealed to him that these letters were sent to her by her all too familiar ex-husband.

Draco set the parchment back onto the floor and tried to decide if he should be angry that she fell asleep reading letters from another man and thus missed the beginning of their date, or if he should pity her that she had fallen asleep on the floor of a ministry office and was sure to be terribly sore when she awoke. This thought led to another, much less innocent, thought in which he was massaging her bare skin on his bed to release her pain. Thoughts like this one invaded his daily routine more often than could be healthy, and as disturbing as it was to him that he was acting like a sixteen-year-old, he rather enjoyed them and rarely tried to shake them away.

"Granger," he said aloud, setting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped immediately and opened her eyes groggily.

"Whatsit?" she mumbled, bringing a hand up to rub at her face.

"You've missed our date," he told her, moving back to lean against her desk, enjoying the sight of a less coherent Hermione Granger. He was sure that this Granger was one that not many people saw, and he was considering himself lucky to have the pleasure of viewing her with a bit of weakness about her. It made her seem a bit more human, and less like the machine which she would have the world believe she was.

Carefully, he watched her as she sat up slowly and observed her surroundings, including him, and then sighed, making her chest rise and fall, a sight that he enjoyed as well. Her hands fell into her lap, and he couldn't help but think she looked very much like a lost child. "I can't have. What time is it?" Her voice cracked as she spoke, and Draco resisted the urge to chuckle at her.

"It's eight thirty," he replied instead, holding a hand out to her, which she ignored, instead pushing herself off the floor with her own hands. One look back at the discarded letters made her blush and look at him quickly.

"Did you read them?" she asked then, staring him in the eye, making it very difficult to think about lying.

"One, yes. I suppose this means you love him, and I am the greatest mistake of your life, meaning you never want to see me again?" He didn't really think this at all, but he was still rather perturbed that Ron Weasley was the reason behind her missing their date.

"If that's what you would like to think, I won't stop you. Merlin knows that would be a lot bloody simpler than the mess I've got myself in now." Granger began to gather the letters, folding each one carefully, before placing them inside one of the drawers of her desk.

Draco watched her and then approached her carefully. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, to begin, I'm not sure I even like you as a person. In fact, I think you are a bloody arse, yet we are going on a date. Your wife is a psychotic liar who would like nothing more than to ruin both our reputations, and it seems that even thinking about pursuing this …" She waved her hands around in front of her at a loss for a word to describe them and then continued. "This thing would be suicide for both of our careers because we just adamantly denied the story that Skeeter posted in the prophet. What do you think is going to happen when someone sees us even speaking to each other? What do you think is going to be in tomorrow's paper? I can see it now, 'Malfoy pays a special late night visit to Granger's office.' I've told Ginny and Harry that it was a one-time fluke, and as much as I wish I could be telling them the truth, I doubt it is."

Her eyes grew wide and her hair shook around her head as she spoke. She looked more than a bit crazy, and Draco found that it make the corner of his lips slide up in appreciation. "And, the kicker really is that my ex-husband is living in my flat with his pregnant girlfriend with a child that I couldn't give him. And, you are an arse."

Draco crossed his arms and stared at her. "You called me an arse twice," he informed her, and she shook her head, falling into the chair behind her desk.

"This is ridiculous, just go home, Malfoy. Leave me alone." She watched him carefully as he remained still as stone, standing only feet from her, staring at the ground.

"So, am I right in assuming this is about Hogwarts?" he asked the ground.

Hermione let out a deep sigh. "Hogwarts, the war, your father, your aunt, the manor, Voldemort, Harry, Dobby, all of it matters. It all happened and you can't make it all go away by pretending to be a different person now."

"I am not pretending," Draco told her, his voice stern. "I am a different person now. Granted, I'm still an arse on occasion, but, fuck, Granger, it's been ten years. Do you honestly think I'm still the same person? Are you the same person you were ten years ago? I seem to recall a skinny little bookworm who was completely and utterly devoted to a gangly boy with a scar and the fireball that insisted on following him around." He jabbed his finger into her desk. "You have made a name for yourself apart from that girl. You are a woman, with quite delicious curves and an intelligence that has risen you to places that being Potter's sidekick would never have taken you." He watched her stare at the door, refusing to meet his eyes. "Fine, I'll leave." He told her, and he began the walk to the door, but was not surprised when he heard her get out of her chair.

He stopped then and turned to face her again.

"This is ridiculous," she said again, not really to him, but more to the room around them.

"Yes, it is," he agreed.

"I think this might be the death of us both."

"I think that might be okay. My life isn't exactly a wonderland."

"I know what you mean." She chuckled softly as his hands found her waist. He pulled her towards him, and their lips met softly, in a careful, tentative kiss that made Hermione fold against him. One of her hands slid up his arm as the other grabbed his neck, making the kiss deeper, which in turn made them need more than the just a kiss to express the blood boiling in their veins.

Hermione parted her lips first, but Draco responded immediately, sucking on her bottom lip before sliding his tongue into the slight opening, eliciting a moan from the witch. After he explored her mouth thoroughly, Draco withdrew his tongue and ghosted a kiss over the corner of her mouth. Hermione turned her head and allowed him to kiss his way to her ear where his breath sent a shiver of anticipation through her body. "You taste much better than Firewhiskey," he teased, and she smiled.

"So, do you," she responded.

"As much as I want to let this get out of hand, there are still a couple people working out there," he continued, his breath still tickling her ear.

"I'll come by tonight, after I get changed," she told him, already hearing Harry's voice filled with disappointment inside of her head.

"No need to change, Granger, I intend on shedding you of any and all clothing before bed." She laughed to herself and lightly pushed him away, reaching instead for a folder off of her desk and then handed it to him. "What is this?" he asked thumbing through the folder.

"The reason you've come to my office on a Saturday, of course." It was his turn to laugh at her, before leaving her office, with a slight smile at the corner of his usual smirk. As soon as the door closed behind him, she sighed and ran her hands through her hair. It was knotted and frizzy from her nap, and she wondered why the hell anyone would want to strip her of all her clothing while she looked like a banshee.

XXX

An hour later, Hermione decided on a pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. It was simple, but the jeans made her legs look amazing, so she knew that she would not disappoint. She tamed her hair and her puffy eyes and headed down the hall. Draco swung the door open as she began to knock.

"Granger."

"Malfoy," she said pointedly.

"Hermione," he corrected. "Come in." He pulled the door open further.

She walked through to his kitchen, trying not to think too much about what she remembered of their night there. "Sorry I ruined your plans," she told him.

"It's fine. I picked up a pizza on the way here."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and grinned. "A pizza?" she nearly laughed at the thought of him sitting in the manor cutting pizza with a knife and fork.

"Is that okay?" he seemed genuinely concerned. "Doesn't everyone like pizza?"

"Yeah, of course, I just … well … it's not what I imagined a Malfoy would eat."

"What exactly do Malfoy's eat? Should I take notes of what to prepare next time you are over an hour late for our date."

Hermione wanted to be upset at his words, but something about the set of his mouth just made her smile. "I don't know. Something fancy."

"The pizza has mushrooms. That's as fancy as we're getting tonight." He moved through to the kitchen as he spoke and Hermione followed, shaking her head behind his back.

Hermione took a seat at his kitchen table and watched as he brought a bottle of wine over to join her. He sat across from her and reached over to pour wine into the glass next to her plate. Hermione leaned forward to grab a piece of the pizza in front of her once he was done. She had just gotten the end of the triangle past her lips when he spoke.

"So, am I allowed to ask about what happened today?" Draco apparently wasn't going to play any games.

Hermione dropped the piece back to the plate and wiped at her mouth with a napkin. She chewed slowly, thinking over his request. "Yes, I suppose," she said and bit her lip.

"What happened today?" His eyes found hers despite her best efforts to avoid them. They were all stone, not giving her the slightest indication of how he felt about any of it. He lifted his glass to his lips to take a sip of his wine, and she broke the contact.

"I'd never read them before. He's been sending them since I left." She fingered the stem of her glass nervously. "I felt like … if I was going to give … something else … a chance, then I had to really face what happened."

"What did happen?" His voice was softer than she had ever imagined it could be, and she was reminded about the odd situation she was in. Hermione Granger having a date with Draco Malfoy. There were very few people in her life that would be okay with this. If she was going to be really honest, there were probably none. Even her mother would purse her lips and ask her, 'Isn't that the boy that always said those cruel things to you, dear?' And, then, what would Hermione say? 'Yes, mum, but he's a good shag and something about him seems different.' She sighed.

"I left him." Hermione looked Draco straight in the face, wanting to see his reaction. "He did everything right. He tried to stay positive and help me and get me through it, and I left." This was the truth, the bare bones of it, but the truth nonetheless. Ron had tried so hard, tried to be normal and loving. He had tried to support her and bring her back to their life together, to make the best of the worst of situations, and she had felt so empty. At the time, she thought she needed the outside to reflect the inside. She had needed to be alone and drown in her emptiness. Ron was everything she couldn't feel. He was love and compassion, when she wanted to wallow in her guilt. The accident had been her fault and Ron had never once let her feel that way.

Draco's face was expressionless as he met her gaze. "Why did you leave?"

"I felt guilty. I don't know what you know."

"Almost nothing," he assured her, and she believed him. There was no reason to really believe him, but on the contrary he hadn't given her a reason to think him untrustworthy since they had reconnected.

"I fell. I was walking down the stairs and I fell. It was an accident, but I," her voice cracked and she took a drink to calm her racing nerves. She had never really talked to anyone about this before. "I was supposed to protect her, take care of her, and I fell and they thought everything was okay, but it wasn't and I …" She felt tears in her eyes and tried to brush them away, not able to meet his eyes anymore. "I couldn't be there. I couldn't be with him and see her things and let him try to fix me… it was too much."

"And he just let you go?" he asked, incredulous.

"I can't even begin to describe the people we were. We both made mistakes, but I left him. I gave up."

"But, he never … he didn't even try?"

"I stayed with Harry and Ginny for a while until I got my own place. He came over there a couple times and Harry told him I just needed some time. By the time I moved, I had already filed for divorce. I wasn't really … I wasn't someone that you would have wanted to be around then."

"I doubt that." His tone was firm and her eyes found his again. They gazed steadily back at her.

"You don't, you can't understand." She kept her voice soft. "Most of my life was going through the motions pretty much until last week. Those first few months, I barely talked to any of our friends or family. It took me nearly six months to start building those relationships backup."

"Do you still love him?"

"Yes." Hermione watched the corner of his mouth twitch and shook her head. "I'm not going to stop loving Ron just because I'm not married to him anymore."

"Do you want him back?" He clenched his napkin in his lap, and she tried to pretend that she didn't notice the movement.

"No," Hermione said. "Whatever we had is broken now. He's … happy again, I hope, and, I'm ready to find something good again."

They were silent for a few minutes as they ate, each of them focused on their food as they tried to think of something to say. "So," Draco broke the silence. "Is this something good?"

"The pizza is good." She smiled across the table at him. "The company has potential."

"Just potential?" He raised a brow at her.

"Well this is our first date," she teased.

"And we've spent most of it talking about Weasley. Atrocious." He grimaced at the thought, and she let out a chuckle. It felt good to laugh in contrast to the tense conversation they had just been having.

"Then let's talk about something else. How was work this week?"

Draco shrugged. "It was better than I expected honestly. The response already seems to have calmed significantly."

"Yes, it does."

"And, you will be happy to hear that Pansy has departed." He said this matter of factly, as if his wife leaving the country was just a package he'd sent off with the post.

"Oh, has she?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, amused.

"Yes," he told her with finality. "She stopped in to see my mother before she left. I suppose she was trying to garner sympathy. That was a mistake." It was his turn to chuckle. Hermione could only imagine what his mother would have done to the younger woman. She had helped Harry bring down Voldemort for her family. Hermione was sure that Pansy would seem insignificant after that.

"What would they think of this?" Hermione asked him, motioning between the two of them. She was genuinely curious. The elder Malfoy's were very rarely seen or heard from these days.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked and put the last of his crust into his mouth.

"I guess not." She shrugged at him, trying to brush away the way his parent's still made her feel.

"They'd come around eventually if I gave them no other choice," he answered anyway.

"Wow, that sounds wonderful," Hermione said sarcastically.

"Well, they certainly aren't perfect."

"But they love you," Hermione told him. She knew it was true. She could still remember the three of them, huddled together after the battle, staring around at the world that had just crumbled down around them. They had given up everything in the end for him. Not for what was right, or wrong, but to save their son and be with him. Nothing else mattered.

"Yes. They do," he agreed.

"I don't know when I'll be able to tell Harry. Probably not for a while." She watched him frown.

"He already knows we slept together…"

"A one-off shag of weakness and dating you are two very different things," Hermione assured him, a blush rising in her cheeks.

Draco laughed again, and she was learning that she enjoyed watching his eyes light up when she amused him. "I guess that is true." He stood up and waved his wand to clean their dinner plates.

"Besides," she said, "There is still the distinct possibility that you are still a git and I won't be seeing you again."

"I doubt that." Draco put one hand on the edge of the table and the other on the back of her chair. He leaned down and kissed her softly, his lips barely grazing over her. She scooted slightly closer to the edge of her chair and moved to grip his shirt in her hands. His tongue darted out, sliding smoothly across her mouth. She parted her lips as he pulled back to murmur, "I really, really doubt that."

XXX

Hermione's wine glass was in her left hand, and she was squinting at the chessboard in front of her. She bit her lip softly and told her knight to move.

"You are awful at this game," Draco told her as his rook moved forward and knocked her knight off the board with such force that Hermione dropped her glass.

"Shit!" she yelled and grabbed it off the floor, as Draco stared at her with obvious glee from across the board. Hermione sent a glare in his direction and waved her wand at his carpet and her jeans, cleaning the dark liquid from both places. "I give up. You win." As she spoke these words, her king threw down his crown, and she stood with a sigh. "I am absolute shit at chess, and it's all Harry and Ron's fault," she informed the man across from her.

Draco stared at her in disbelief. "You surrendered?"

"Of course, I did. My defeat was inevitable. You win. Congratulations," she sounded extremely put out at this fact.

Draco pushed himself off the floor then and pumped a fist dramatically into the air. "I have defeated Hermione Granger!"

Another glare was the only response he received, as Hermione walked into the kitchen, followed by Draco. She was standing by the sink rinsing her glass, so he moved behind her and slid his hands down her sides to rest at her hips. "I've had a really good night."

"Me too," she agreed.

"I want to do this again."

"Me too."

He leaned in to place his lips at the base of her ear and kissed her softly there, lingering to breathe on her skin.

"Draco …" Her voice was hesitant as she spun in his arms, and met his eyes.

"You need to go," he finished for her.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Are you sure?"

"I think it's best."

His hands moved up to her hair and Draco grazed his lips softly over hers. Hermione couldn't stop a soft moan that slipped out at the contact. She clenched his shirt in her fingers, not trusting her hands to move over his body. "When can I see you again?" His lips moved over hers as he spoke and she felt desire pooling her stomach, aching for her to react to him.

"I have plans with my parents tomorrow," she replied.

"And, Monday I have more meetings with the Ministry. I'm still accommodating for the excess publicity, so I have no idea how long they will last," Draco told her miserably.

"Owl me Tuesday?"

"Yes." They stood there for a full minute, his fingers in her hair, his forehead against hers, her fingers clenched tightly itching to move. "You should go … now," he said finally, pulling back from her.

"Okay." She led the way to the door and he followed her. Hermione reached out and opened the door. She checked her pocket for her wand and blushed at the knowing smile Draco gave her. "I'll see you," she told him.

"We'll make something work this week."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Hermione."

 **A/N: Thank you for taking the time to review. It really is so wonderful to not only know that you are reading, but to read your reactions to what is happening in the story or that you are enjoying, so THANK YOU !**

 **A couple notes from reviews …**

 **Thank you to those that recognize that I'm trying not to Ron bash. Ron isn't perfect by any stretch in this story, but neither is anyone else. I want them all to see like real people that make mistakes and suck because we all have our moments. I don't hate Ron, and I'm not big on Ron-bashing, so that probably isn't something you will ever find in anything I write.**

 **I know the last chapter was super sad! I'm sorry to have made you sad, but Hermione has never really dealt with her issues, and she needed to do it. I hope that this chapter sort of makes up for it. My beta team seemed to enjoy the kiss at the end so hopefully it will tide you over until the next update.**

 **By the way, this chapter is coming at you from Idaho where I am vacationing with my husband's family. I am trying to get a lot of writing done, but they want me to be hanging out with them and stuff, so we will see. It is my intention to begin updating twice a week at some point, but right now I don't have enough chapters built up to do that. I will keep you updated on the status of that. As of right now, we will stay on the Thursday's schedule.**

 **All my love and gratitude.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	9. Chapter 9

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: All my gratitude to these three: ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy They are so much more than just betas. Thank you for your work on this story and help making it better than it was before by far ! **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Nine: Friends**

The next day, Draco had quidditch tickets with Blaise and Theo. They went to a match most Sundays, and this was his first time seeing either of them since his situation with Hermione had ended up all over the Prophet. He hadn't been looking forward to it, and their expressions when they saw him didn't give him much hope about this being any more enjoyable than he had been imagining.

"Draco," Blaise greeted him flatly as Theo grunted.

"What has you two in a mood?" Draco took his seat between the two of them.

"You," Theo said pointedly.

"What did I do?" Draco asked even though he knew precisely what he had done.

"Daphne was ranting at me about this all week, I'll have you know." Blaise looked sideways at him, leaning back in his chair. His legs stretched out in front of him as he crossed his arms. Apparently Pansy paid her a visit while I was at work on Monday and well, you know how they get."

"I hardly believe that is my fault."

"Granger told her that you two are fucking," Theo said crassly.

"Granger was taking the piss out of her," Draco insisted.

"Pansy didn't seem to think so," Blaise said knowingly.

"Why would Granger make up something like that?" Theo asked.

"How am I supposed to know? I hadn't talked to Granger in years before I moved into my flat."

"And, now?"

"She brought me my post one morning and told me she'd told Pansy we were shagging." He'd already determined before the match that the best option was to stick to the truth as much as possible without telling them about the turn his … relationship … with Granger had taken.

"And?"

"And nothing."

"Why were you walking home with her in that photo?" Blaise asked.

In front of them, the match was finally beginning. Draco leaned forward, hoping that Quidditch may help him end this conversation. "We ran into each other and walked home."

"So your statement said."

"That was a fucking joke if I've ever seen one," Theo added.

"You don't believe me?"

"I think it's a little too convenient, and I'm tired of listening to Daphne bitch about it," Blaise retorted coolly.

"It's not my fault Daphne has horrible taste in friends."

"Apparently the same horrible taste you had when you married that pug." Blaise didn't do well with people offending Daphne. He actually loved his wife, and she seemed to love him back.

"You know why I married her." The union had been orchestrated by his parents, and he had been all too willing. Pansy had been his friend, someone he trusted and thought he could come to love over time. That was back when he had believed that they were both invested in making their marriage work, but he had been wrong.

"But you were loyal to that hag," Theo snorted. "What a waste of all that time."

Draco glared at him. "Really, Theo?"

"Daphne's sister is single again." Blaise cut in. "Astoria is fond of you, and she's damn good looking to boot. She never cared for Pansy, and you know she would keep her legs shut."

"I am not marrying a Greengrass, Blaise. Tell Daphne to give it up with that shit."

"You don't have to marry her," Theo said knowingly.

"I would have to marry a girl like that." Draco had no interest in getting involved in another orchestrated marriage. He had put his time into his perfect pureblood union and that had ended in a disaster. He wasn't in any sort of rush to repeat that mistake.

"What have your parents had to say about all of this?" Blaise asked, turning the conversation again.

"I haven't talked to them."

"They haven't owled?"

"Of course they have. My father is furious that the idiots at The Prophet think I would stoop to that level. Mother is upset that I'm not trying harder to fix things with Pansy. It's not something I want to deal with right now."

"And you aren't shagging Granger?" Theo asked. Draco thought he almost heard a hint of disappointment in his tone.

"Fuck, Theo, no I'm not," he spat.

XXX

On Monday, Hermione had a meeting with her department head and Kingsley. The two men had read her latest proposal on compensation for Magical Creatures and they each gave her a long list of edits to work on. As she was leaving the Minister's office, she found herself face to face with her best friend. "Harry, hey."

"Hey," he said, genuinely surprised and happy to see her. "We missed you this weekend."

"I know." She shut the door behind her, leaving the two men inside alone to talk.

"Ron was … asking a lot of questions," Harry told her quietly.

Hermione sighed and pulled the folders she was carrying closer to her chest. "I'm having lunch with him tomorrow."

"That's what he said. We told him to wait and ask you his questions."

"Thanks."

"We're having Nev, Hannah, and Luna to dinner tomorrow. Why don't you come?"

Hermione bit at her bottom lip. She hoped to see Draco again Tuesday night. They hadn't made plans exactly, but he was supposed to owl her. She had assumed it would lead to dinner plans. She had enjoyed Saturday night in his flat more that she was really willing to admit, even to herself, and she hadn't been able to stop thinking about that kiss before she had left. More than once she had unconsciously clenched her fingers when she thought about it as if she was trying to feel his shirt in her grasp again. Despite that, she couldn't really tell Harry that she was hoping to have another date with Draco Malfoy. She hadn't been to their house in far too long to turn down a visit. They would soon begin to get suspicious. "Did you ask Ron and Lavender to come?"

"No. I would've said," Harry insisted.

"Okay, then, yeah. It sounds like a good time. I need to see the boys."

"Well it has been four days. They might forget who you are." Harry smiled teasingly at her, and she shook her head.

"They are my godsons. I can see and spoil them all I want."

"Yeah, yeah." The door beside them opened and Felix Kraus, her department head, took in the sight of them.

"Potter," he said jovially, sticking a hand at Harry.

Harry shook the larger man's hand and dipped his head for a moment in greeting. "Kraus."

"Not trying to steal Granger again, are you?" Kraus narrowed his eyes at her best friend.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Harry held his hands up in front of him to signal his innocence.

Kraus laughed deeply, the sound erupting from his belly, as a hand rested on Hermione's shoulder. "Then you are a fool. This woman is going to change the world."

"I have no doubt about that, and she doesn't need me holding her back," Harry agreed. "If you will excuse me, I have a meeting with the Minister."

"Yes, of course. Good day, Potter."

"See you tomorrow, Harry." Hermione walked back to the lift to take it back to her floor with Kraus at her side. He was talking animatedly about their meeting with the Minister, and she listened and responded appropriately while the back of her mind wondered if she could have just told Harry she was busy with these rewrites. Surely that would have been a believable excuse, but now it was probably too late to use it. She knew she should be excited about going to see her friends, especially Neville, Hannah, and Luna who she hadn't seen in weeks. She should be, but she was just a little bit disappointed instead.

When she arrived at her office, her assistant handed her a stack of messages and post. She sat at her desk to look through them and found that the top letter was addressed simply to Granger. She couldn't stop the smile that claimed her lips, sliding them up as she flipped over the letter to break the seal.

 _I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to firm up plans. Dinner? I'll even take you to a real restaurant if you promise not to fall asleep and miss it._

It wasn't signed, but she didn't need a signature.

 **XXX**

Hermione set her glass down on the tablecloth and moved her eyes back to the redhead across the table. Ron was forking potato into his mouth, avoiding her gaze as he had been throughout the meal. He had hugged her when he arrived, pulling her awkwardly into his arms as if he'd never done it before. She inhaled the familiar scent of him, trying not to hold him too tightly as nostalgia fell over her in waves.

"So," she began, breaking the heavy silence.

Ron set his fork down, wiped his mouth with his napkin, and set it back in his lap. "So."

"Lavender," she said uneasily.

Ron was immediately sheepish, his cheeks tinged with a familiar pink under his freckles. "Yeah, it just sort of happened."

"A baby just sort of happened?" Hermione tried to keep her voice calm, but she was sure some of the pain clawing at her chest made its way into her tone.

"No, of course not," Ron said quickly. " _We_ just sort of happened. She has her shop in Diagon Alley, and we just started seeing each other while closing up and started talking."

"How long?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know, but the words spilled out anyway. She bit her lip as she watched him rub his thumb along the grain of the wooden table.

"Seven months."

"Oh." She hadn't really been expecting that. She didn't know what she was expecting, but seven months seemed like a pretty serious something. She realized then that, in her mind, the baby had always been a one night mistake. This seemed to be pretty far from the truth.

"Yeah."

"You didn't tell anyone." It wasn't a question. If he was going to tell someone, it would have been Harry.

"Err, no. I asked her if we could try to keep things low key. I didn't want to end up in, well, a situation like, well …" He glanced at her and then away.

"Like I'm in?" she finished, guessing at his thoughts.

He nodded, his lips pulling tight in anger. "What were you thinking?"

"That isn't really any of your business," she snipped.

"'Mione." A lump formed in Hermione's throat as her nickname rolled off his lips. He hadn't called her that in … well … she couldn't even place the last time. Ron reached across the table and hesitated. His fingers lingered a breath above hers for a beat before they fell down to rest on hers. "I just want … to understand." His voice was desperate, but it seemed controlled.

"I doubt that will happen," she admitted. She barely understood what she saw in Draco. How could she expect him to?

"You know, I am sometimes capable of being an adult."

Hermione grinned softly at him, her hand turned upside down so that she could grip his fingers in return. "I know." She breathed in, filled her lungs, and let the breath out slowly, bracing herself. "Harry and Ginny told me about Lavender and the baby. I was upset, and Draco is my neighbor now. He'd invited me to dinner."

"Malfoy invited you to dinner?" Ron raised an eyebrow as if he hardly believe such a thing was possible.

"You know, Ron, we've all changed. He's not the same person any more than you or I are." She tried to keep her voice from sounding defensive, but she seemed incapable of hiding her emotion from him today.

"But, still, there's only so much changing a person can really do …"

"Oh," Hermione cut him off. "And is Lavender still simpering about her Won-Won these days?" Hermione hadn't seen Lavender since before she had Ron had split, but she knew that she wasn't. Even before the Battle of Hogwarts the girl had changed. Being brutally attacked by Fenrir Greyback had made her a force to be reckoned with. She had even spoken in front of the Wizengamot on two occasions in support of Hermione's own Werewolf legislation that would make access to Wolfsbane easier. As much as Hermione would love to imagine the Won-Won version of Lavender hanging off of her ex-husband with doe eyes, she imagined the reality was quite different.

"No, of course she isn't." His quick defense of her, his … girlfriend, or whatever she was, made a shiver run down Hermione's back as she forced herself to smile. He loved her. It was clear in the set of his jaw and the intensity of his eyes. He'd fallen in love with Lavender.

"Well," she forced herself to speak. "He is still a bit of a git, but … I don't know, Ron. I like being with him," she admitted.

Ron looked at her oddly across the table. "Are you going to keep seeing him?"

Hermione chewed on her lip for a few moments. "I don't know."

Ron stared at her hard. "You are," he said resolutely.

Hermione pulled her hand from him. "Yeah, I think I am."

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know." She bit at her bottom lip, tugging it into her mouth. "Do you … could you not mention this to Gin and Harry?"

"I thought they already …" he trailed off, his confusion clear.

"I haven't talked to them about us actually seeing each other."

"Oh," Ron said simply.

"I will," Hermione quickly added. "I just haven't."

"Okay. I guess I can just not say anything."

"Thanks, Ron."

"Yeah." He lifted his fork up and pushed at his food with it. Hermione was sure that he wanted to say something else, but it was clear he didn't feel comfortable sharing what was on his mind. She almost asked him, but as her lips opened, she clamped them back shut. She didn't want to know.

XXX

 **A/N: This update is coming at you a tad late. The past two weeks of travel to Idaho and Yellowstone have been amazing, but I am ready and glad to be home. Thank you for your well wishes about our vacation! We just finished unpacking the van and I am going to bed!**

 **I think the only question from last chapter was if the elder Malfoy's will be making an appearance and the answer is … yes. Eventually.**

 **Thank you for your kind words about my fic! I'm glad so many of you seem to enjoy it. I am having fun writing it. I wish I hadn't been in a car for most of four days and could think straight to gush on about your amazingness.**

 **Please let me know what you think of this chapter!**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	10. Chapter 10

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: I owe so much to ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy for taking each chapter and making it better. I also owe them for checking in on me and making sure I'm writing. They are my biggest cheerleaders and I love them for it. **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Ten:**

Draco heard Hermione come home from Harry and Ginny's. He was sitting on his couch working through calculations when he heard the sound of her door closing. He tried to ignore it. He really did. He kept working for twenty minutes after he heard her come home. Well, he managed to stay in one place, his eyes staring down at numbers that held little meaning when compared to the thoughts running through his brain - thoughts of Hermione on this couch in only his shirt.

"Fuck," he finally hissed, tossing the parchment down on the cushion next to him before rising. He was done waiting. He wanted to see her, and they had yet to land on a good time to get together, which was irritating him. They had been owling back and forth for two days. He had been hoping for dinner tonight, but then Potter had messed that up by inviting her to his home with some friends. Draco had spent the night working instead.

He slipped his wand from the small table in front of the couch and into his pocket before he crossed the room to leave. He was knocking on her front door moments later. When she opened the door, he took in the sight of her. She had pulled her hair into a bobble and changed into pyjamas. The shirt was loose, but he was almost certain she was not wearing a bra underneath it.

"Draco," she smiled brightly at him, and he felt a cool satisfaction at her happiness.

"Hermione," he said back, and then he realized he had nothing else to say. He hadn't thought this through very far and the silence stretched between them, each moment building some sort of tension.

Finally, Hermione laughed nervously. "Do you want to come in? I opened a bottle of wine." She stepped back, holding the door open, and Draco stepped inside.

"How was dinner?" he asked as they walked towards her couch.

"Oh, well …" Hermione waved her wand towards the kitchen and a glass moved slowly into the room as she settled herself on the couch. "Interesting." He sat next to her and waited as she poured him a glass.

When she handed it to him, his fingers brushed softly against hers, and she bit her bottom lip as she blushed prettily. Did she realize how much he loved that gesture that she seemed to do whenever she was confused, or considering? "Why, 'interesting'?"

"Oh, they are just … sometimes I feel a bit out of place."

"How so?"

"Well, Harry and Ginny have the boys, and Luna is about to have twins with her husband, Rolf. And, Hannah and Neville are trying to get pregnant, and none of them really like talking about any of it with me." Hermione looked down into her own glass and raised it to her lips to take a sip. "It's worse now because there is the thing with Ron, and they all know now, and I'm just … I'm just the loner that lost her baby and left her husband, and they all kind of talk around it."

"It's not like this kind of stuff comes with a guidebook." Draco could relate with her friends on this point. He wanted to say the right thing and be supportive, but at the same time, he was sure that he could never understand what she had been through.

"I know, but I've been friends with these people for nearly twenty years. I guess I just expect them to be a little less white-gloved about the whole thing." She lifted her glass to her lips.

"Would you really be okay with it?" he asked carefully. He couldn't imagine watching her friends have children was easy when she was supposed to be one of them. She was supposed to have a daughter to care for and a husband at her side. Instead, she had this lonely flat and him.

"I don't know. Maybe. Probably not." She stared at him and pointed her finger in his direction. "But I would fake it for them."

"Maybe they don't want you to have to fake it," he told her attentively. Honestly, he was sure this was it. Her friends were a bunch of Gryffindor's and Hufflepuff's.

"You're probably right." Hermione sighed and pulled her feet up under her on the couch.

Draco moved his arm behind her, and she leaned into him slowly, and then laughed against his chest. He looked down at her, but she was smiling towards her fireplace. "This is crazy."

"What?" he asked, slightly offended that she seemed to be laughing at him.

"Me talking to you, telling you things I can't tell my oldest friends." She turned further so that her body was against his, and looked up into his face. "What would our Hogwarts selves think of us now?" She was smiling, but it was a sad sort of smile that he didn't want to see, so he leaned in to kiss her softly. She sighed into him, her body relaxing as their lips met.

"I think my Hogwarts self would be quite cocky about it," he teased.

"Mine would be mortified."

"He may have been a little of that too, but he was a horny bloke underneath all that angst."

Hermione snorted as she laughed which only made her laugh harder. Even Draco was chuckling as he reached to the side to set down his glass. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer as her lips met his again for a few, brief moments. He let his back fall down to the cushion, and she lay beside him.

"We can trade friends if you want," he offered as she rested her chin on his chest.

"Why is that?"

"Mine wouldn't worry about your delicate feelings. Plus, they want me to date Astoria Greengrass." He waggled his eyebrows at her as he said the other woman's name.

Hermione laughed again and scrunched up her nose as she thought. "Is that Daphne's sister?"

"Yes."

"You don't want to take her out?" she asked, and he couldn't tell if she was still teasing or genuinely thought he might want to.

"Do you want me to take her out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh." Her cheeks flushed. "No, I don't."

"Good, then we are in agreement."

"Wouldn't that be easier, though?" she pushed.

"Girls from families like that are always looking to get married."

"You don't want to get married to another pretty little pureblood girl?" He could tell she tried not to smile, but the corners of her mouth betrayed her.

"Do you want me to?"

Hermione looked away from him towards the fireplace again. Her cheek rested against his chest, and he was sure she would be able to hear what she was doing to his heart rate. She trailed lazy circles on his chest with the side of her thumb and her foot gently began to trace a small path up and down his shin.

He moved his fingers into her hair then, pulling at the elastic. She frowned up at him as it got stuck for a few moments, but he just smirked as he freed her curls, causing them to fly into her face. Draco was going to kiss her again and he wanted to wrap his hands in her hair as he did. He inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo as she shook her head softly and pushed the locks aside. "Was that necessary?" she asked.

"Yes." One hand wound its way into her hair as he closed the inches between them again. Hermione pushed against the armrest with her toes, moving her body further up his. Draco's tongue slid softly over her bottom lip and then darted between the part in her mouth. Their kisses so far that night had been soft, sweet, tentative. Now they were hungry. It was as if they both had been moving towards this moment from the second she opened the door to greet him, and they were both dying to taste the other.

Hermione's hand slid down his torso and she fumbled at the edge of his shirt, pulling the fabric free of his trousers. Her fingers danced greedily up his abdomen, pushing the shirt with them, popping the bottom button open in her haste. Draco needed to feel more of her than the small shiver of delight that her hands gave him. His own free hand moved underneath her shirt and moved around to her back. He scratched her skin softly as he pushed the cloth up.

Hermione moaned against his mouth at the sensation, and he used the break to move his desperate kisses down her jaw to her throat. He sucked at the soft skin there as he felt her press her body harder against him. He fought the urge to arch into her as his hand found her breast. "Fuck," he mumbled against her neck as her nipple pebbled beneath his thumb.

"Draco …" Hermione breathed his name, and he couldn't hold back his hips any longer. They rolled up against her, and she returned the pressure, sliding her hips into his. The unexpected sensation pulled a noise from his throat before he could stop it. He moved both of his hands down to cup her arse, pulling her towards him as he moved back to sit up on the couch. Hermione settled in his lap, her knees bent on either side of his body. Her fingers moved into his hair and he pulled her against him tightly as his mouth claimed hers again.

He sucked in her bottom lip, letting his teeth graze over it. She tasted like wine and chocolate, and it was absolutely delicious. Her fingers tightened, and she pulled back. His eyes met hers. They were filled with desire and a small bit of panic. "Are you okay?" he choked out, trying to ignore the feel of her body positioned over him.

"I … yeah." She blinked a few times and pulled her hands from him. She ran her fingers through her curls and finally settled them on his chest as she tried to control her breathing. She squirmed in his lap, and he did his best not to push back against her. It was not an easy task.

"Do you need me to go?" he asked, praying to anyone that might be listening that she didn't.

"No." She bit her lip again, and he sighed.

"It's fine, Hermione."

"I feel terrible," she said softly.

"Don't." He kissed her again and moved her gently off his lap. She stood as he did and walked him back to the front door. She put her back against it with her hand on the handle.

"I'm sorry," she told him. Draco moved into her. His hand framed her cheek, and he kissed her softly, using every ounce of willpower he had left to keep his body from moving against hers.

"Don't be sorry," he whispered. "When it happens again, because it _is_ happening again, I don't want you to regret it."

"Me either," she agreed. "Can you do lunch Thursday? I have two hours, because a meeting was cancelled."

"Yes," he said, not caring if he could, or couldn't. He would make it work. He kissed her temple and pulled back from her to let her move aside as she opened the door.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She smiled at his back as he walked down the hall to his door. He pushed his wand against it and stole one last glance at her. Her hair was flying off in odd directions, her lips were swollen, her shirt and pants were tousled, and her smile was wide. She looked perfect.

XXX

Felix's hands were crossed under his chin, two fingers resting against his lips. He sat on the edge of his seat, staring down at the parchment on her desk.

Hermione watched him, and the clock behind him, closely. He had been silently reading for nearly thirty minutes. She mentioned to him that morning that she had finished some revisions and wanted him to take a look at them when he had a chance. He had strolled into her office just as she was starting to think about packing up to leave for her lunch with Draco. If he didn't keep her much longer, she might be on time, hopefully, maybe. She was probably going to be late, which she hated.

Finally, Felix dropped his hands and looked up at her with a frown. "It's better."

"Better?" she asked. She had spent most of the week working on this and nothing else. She was tired of looking at it. She was tired of reading. She was tired of all the hoops this law, which should already exist, was making her jump through.

"Better." He pushed the packet back towards her.

"But, not ready?" She fought the urge to scream at him. She was a professional. She could do this. She had done this, many times actually.

"It isn't the policies, Hermione."

"What?" she asked, surprised. "What is it then?"

"The language."

"English?" she snapped.

Felix shook his head, exasperated. "Look, Granger," Hermione threw a glare at him. He only called her Granger when she annoyed him. "I know you're passionate about this. The Wizengamot know you are passionate about it. The language has too much of that. This law isn't about how you feel. The law can't be about feeling, you know that. You seem to be struggling with keeping yours out of this."

"This is why I work here." Hermione jabbed a finger into the packet. "This is what I've always wanted to get done."

"I know, I know. I'm happy for you, Hermione. I think this is the time; Shacklebolt is with us. But you have to figure out how to get yourself out of the text of the thing. It has you all over it. Your soul is practically woven into it."

Hermione sighed and flipped through the pages of parchment. It was possible that he was right. "Okay." She knew she shouldn't get upset with him, but the word came out tight and short.

"I'm just trying to help."

"I know." She picked up the packet and shoved it into her bag.

"Your best chance is to try to pull the emotion out, make it about the facts."

Hermione huffed at that. "The facts are emotional."

"They don't have to be," he argued.

"I'll figure it out."

"I know you will. We wouldn't trust anyone else with this."

Hermione picked up her bag, resting it on her lap. "I know."

"This is going to be extraordinary."

"I know."

"The ramifications…"

"I don't need you to pet my confidence, Felix," she cut in. "I'm quite aware of what this law will mean _if_ I can get them to pass it. I'll do more revisions. I know you're right. I'm just struggling with this one." Her voice began firm, but by the end, she was staring down at her bag and speaking softly.

"Well, I've got a lunch to get to." He pushed up from his seat with his hands on her desk and pointed at her. "This is going to be great."

"I know. Thank you."

"Eh." He waved his arm dismissively as he left her office. Hermione pulled her bag over her shoulder, grabbed her wand, and moved to follow him.

XXX

Draco was sitting at the table when she arrived. She gave the name he had made up to make the reservation, and followed the Muggle woman back to a small table near the back of the restaurant where he was looking over a menu. The table wasn't entirely in its own room, but it was nearly secluded. Hermione took the seat across from him and thanked the woman as she left to walk back to the front.

"Everything okay?" Draco asked once they were alone. His comment left unsaid that she was late.

"Yes. I was meeting with my Head unexpectedly."

"Mmm, Kraus. He doesn't like me."

"No, he doesn't," Hermione agreed, as she settled herself in her chair. She reached for the menu and began to browse the lists.

"Well, you didn't like me either, but look at us now," Draco teased.

"Somehow, I don't think you and Felix will be making up in quite the same way that we did." She was laughing as she continued to read.

"No, I imagine not." He grinned at the absurdity of the thought. "What were you meeting about?"

"Just something I'm working on." She set down the menu and looked up at Draco. Hermione wasn't sure if she really wanted to share with him yet. If Felix thought she was too emotionally involved in the bill, what would Draco say about it? He would probably think the very idea of paying house elves and other creatures was ludicrous. He was raised by Dobby's owner after all.

"Cryptic." He raised a single brow at her and she shrugged as the waiter arrived to take their orders for lunch. Once he had gone again, Draco spoke, "Tell me about your parents."

She stopped lifting her glass of water and stared at him. "What?"

"Your parents. Tell me about them." He was leaning back slightly in his wooden chair. His Muggle suit was clinging to him perfectly and his hair was swept to one side. She couldn't help but think about the fact that she had had this body on her couch earlier this week and sent it away.

Now they were eating lunch in public where they couldn't end up on top of one another and he was asking her about her very muggle parents. "Really? Why?"

"I'm trying to get to know you." He shrugged. A movement that barely lifted his shoulders, but still managed to exude confidence.

"They're Muggles," she told him, in case he had forgotten.

"I had no idea," he teased condescendingly. His tone seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she had been in. She put her water back on the table. "What are their names?" he asked.

"My dad is Wendell, and my mum is Monica," Hermione told him. She felt a flutter in her stomach at the release of this information. He wanted to know about her parents. This was something she rarely spoke about, something she guarded even more closely than her relationship with Ron, but something about this, something about Draco, just made her want to tell him things she hadn't told anyone in years.

"Wendell?" Draco smiled a small smile.

Hermione glared at him. "Lucius?"

"Point taken," he conceded. "What do they do?"

Hermione stared down at her empty plate and then back up at him. "They are retired."

"What did they do before that?"

"They were dentists," she paused, taking him in again. She was okay with where this was going. She was a little terrified, but okay. She wanted him to ask. She wanted to tell him. "Until the war."

"Our war?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, our war. I … I modified their memories. They lived in Australia for over a year before I went back for them." She watched him carefully.

"You did what?" Draco leaned in and began speaking quietly.

"I … I sent them to Australia. Gave them a new last name, gave them a new life."

"A life without you in it?" He was nearly hissing now, and Hermione felt the shame of those actions coming back to her as the realization of what she had done washed through him.

"Yes."

"And they remember you now? They know who you are?" He sounded amazed, impressed even. She hated it.

"Yes."

"Bloody fuck." He was staring wide eyed at her as the waiter approached them with salads.

Draco sat back to let the man leave their food and Hermione nodded her thanks and sent him on his way with a demure, "We're fine, thank you."

"That is … incredible. Did you do the reversal yourself?" he asked, ignoring his food.

"Yes."

"Hermione, that is amazing magic." She felt her stomach flutter. This was the first time her name had rolled off his tongue like he had said it a thousand times before. Well, the first time he wasn't naked.

"I suppose. I could have killed them, or wiped their memories. I could have... It was dangerous," she broke off lamely, unable to fully put her fears into words. She needed him to understand that this wasn't something she thought of as one of her shining moments.

"But you didn't," he argued.

"Yes, but…" she bit her lip and looked away, "they weren't pleased." That was an understatement. They were livid. The argument they had after she had reversed the spell had been the first and last time her parents had ever screamed at her. Her mother had sobbed for days.

"What do they do now?" Draco asked, pulling her away from memories of that night.

"What?"

"What do they do now?" he repeated.

"Mum mostly gardens and sews, and Dad reads quite a bit and writes. He submits articles to dentistry publications."

"People read those?" Draco asked curiously. She could tell he was trying not to offend her, but that the idea seemed ridiculous. As they spoke, the waiter took their salad plates.

Hermione waited for him to leave again and spoke. "Yes. Other dentists, and I do when he's published."

"That sounds terrible," Draco told her, frowning.

"Not really. It's just like having a conversation with him, but I don't have to see the look of disappointment in his eyes while I do it," she half mumbled the last part, but she knew Draco could understand her.

"Disappointment?"

"Most of the time I feel like all I've done since Ron and I went to Australia is disappoint them. And hurt them."

"I doubt that."

"Can you imagine though, Draco? What if your parents had changed your memories, erased themselves from you for an entire year and then come to wake you up and now you have these two lives that you have to reconcile. And then I just left them again. I went back to Hogwarts and helped with the rebuilding while I finished out my last year." She hadn't been able to stand it. Her mother was crying, and her father was angry and hurt that she had lied to them so much before sending them away from their lives for an entire year. Hermione hadn't been able to breathe in their house. "Ron and I got married, and then I lost Rose and we got divorced, and I still stayed with Harry and Ginny. I didn't even go stay with them then. Now I work in the Wizarding world, and they don't really understand what I do or why I would want to be part of a world that made me steal a year of their lives from them."

"So, you don't have a very good relationship with them?" Draco asked, unsure.

"I don't know. I go there most Saturdays now. I garden with my mother and the three of us eat lunch together. I wouldn't say it's bad, it's just … there is always this level that we ignore where I know they are hurt by what I've done and what my life represents to them."

"Hmmm."

Their waiter brought their lunch plates, set them in front of them, and refilled their water. Hermione and Draco sat quietly while he worked, both lost in thoughts about her parents. The waiter left them alone after a few minutes and Hermione began to cut into her chicken.

"What about your parents?" she asked, hoping to change the subject, hoping he would give her something back.

"Ah, the Malfoy's," he frowned deeply.

"Well, I shared mine," she laughed uneasily.

"Yes, you did." He scooped a bite of his pasta into his mouth, probably to give him time to think. "They live quietly. They try to stay out of the way," he said finally.

"That's it? What about the article?" she asked, disappointed.

Draco sighed and pushed at his food. "They aren't pleased. They never wanted me to end things with Pansy. It was bad for the family image that I've worked so hard to repair. They aren't particularly crazy about her, but she was my wife and, in their eyes, she still should be."

"Even though Pansy was having an affair?" Hermione asked, a little shocked.

"Pansy's affair was an unfortunate mistake, but it could have been easily swept under the rug and ended."

"Wow." Hermione didn't really know what else to say.

"Yes. They struggle to understand why I refused to do that."

"And me? What do they think about that?" She watched his hand tighten around his silverware.

"They aren't going to like it," he said simply.

"Are you going to tell them about us?" she asked, unsure how she felt about it one way or the other. Ron knew she was seeing him, or that she was planning on it at least, but she wasn't ready to tell Harry or Ginny. She still wasn't sure what she really felt about any of this. It was clear that she loved it when he touched her, but there was also something easy about this, chatting over lunch.

"I'm not planning on it yet, but if we continue seeing each other, I will have to eventually," Draco told her.

"Yes, I suppose you would," she agreed.

XXX

A/N: Thank you Thank you Thank you to everyone who reviewed ! I love you. I love reading your words and I appreciate the time it takes to leave a note about this story.

Chrissyd1… Yes I did. It will make a reappearance one day when I have the time to finish it. I am touched that you liked it and noticed. It encourages me to hurry it up.

Leave a review if you feel up to it ! I love reading them. I know my beta team does too and they are incredible, so leave them something happy to read!

Final note ... something lemony this way comes ... winky face.

XOXO

Meg


	11. Chapter 11

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy … None of this without you. None of it. I love you so much beautiful ladies! **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Eleven**

As Hermione was getting ready to leave for her parents early Saturday morning, there was a loud knock on her front door. She opened it to find Draco standing on the other side. They had mostly owled back and forth over the past week and a half, but she hadn't seen him in person since leaving him from their lunch date. He had kissed her quickly, as if he was afraid of being caught but unable to resist. She felt a little silly, but she had missed him.

"Morning." He was wearing Muggle clothes; dark wash jeans and a dark blue jumper. She knew he didn't have any plans today other than catching up on work, and she had learned that he hated to get up early. The fact that he must have woken and dressed specifically to be able to come see her before she left made her stomach flip.

"Morning. Want to come in?" she asked, and he followed her back to the kitchen. Hermione made her way towards the cabinet to grab him a cup. "Do you want some coffee?"

"No, I'm fine."

Hermione stopped and leaned back against the counter. "What's going on?" she asked.

Draco didn't answer. He closed the final few steps between them and put one hand on the counter, and one at her waist. He kissed her slowly, enjoying the feel of her body against his. Hermione ran her hands up his chest to meet behind his neck. "When will you be home?" he breathed as his lips lingered over hers.

"Sometime this afternoon." Her heart was racing as he pressed her back into the counter. She was seriously considering just being late for her parents, or skipping out just this once. She could just tell them she had to work. That probably wouldn't go over well next Saturday, but it would mean she could stay here with Draco, alone in her apartment all day.

"I want to see you today," he replied, and she could feel the urgency in his voice. The pool of need growing between her legs seemed to quite agree with him. Holding out was proving to be just a little too difficult for her. She wanted to get to know him, to try and make this about more than revenge sex on his kitchen floor, but her hormones were insisting that she knew him quite well enough already. Eight days without seeing him seemed to make the attraction worse instead of better.

"You're seeing me now," she teased as he moved light kisses up her jaw to her ear. He nearly growled at her words.

"You know what I mean. I want more than ten minutes." His words slid into her ear and sent tremors across her skin.

"I can bring dinner over tonight." The words escaped her lips before she could even consider the implications of them. Dinner, at his flat. She wasn't sure she would have the self control to leave again, but her mouth didn't seem to care.

"I could take you out for dinner." Draco's fingers were at the hem of her blouse, brushing back and forth on her hip. "I know several Muggle restaurants that will give me a private room." He was giving her an out, forcing her to make a choice. Out and safely home after, or in and … well …

"I don't want to go out," she nearly choked on the words as his fingers tightened their grip.

"Oh, Merlin," he breathed. The words tickled against her neck as teeth grazed skin.

"Draco, I have to go to my parents." She could hardly speak as the implications of her own decision rushed through her, lighting her skin on fire. Her body wanted him now, here.

"I know." Draco pulled back, and Hermione bit her lip as she met his eyes. "Are you sure you don't want to go out?"

"Yes." She nodded with finality. "I'll bring over dinner. We'll stay in. You get the wine."

"I can handle that." He leaned in again and claimed her mouth one last time.

XXX

"Did you get any work done?" Hermione asked. Draco was sitting at one end of the couch holding a take out Chinese container and a fork. The image of him eating spring rolls had made Hermione nearly giggle like a little girl while he had glared at her. Now he was wrapping Lo Mein noodles around the tines and somehow managing to still look attractive as he did it. On the other hand, she was sure that she looked ridiculous while she tried not to drop any rice down her blouse.

"Some. Theo stopped by. He asked about you again," Draco told her with a frown.

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Mhm." He stirred the food in his container. Hermione was facing him with her knees bent, toes tucked under his thigh. "I'm fairly certain he thinks I should have my way with you."

Hermione cringed. "How pleasant."

"I've never really considered Theo to be overly pleasant." Draco smirked. "He was quick to point out how close our flats are."

"I don't think I love the idea of Theo knowing where I live."

"He and Blaise are both on my list," he said.

"Who else made it?"

"My mother and father."

"Do you call them that to their faces? Father and Mother?" she asked, the side of her mouth curving into a smile.

"Most of the time."

"Hmm."

"Is that wrong?"

"It just seems very formal."

"What do you call your parents?"

"Mum and Dad, and they were perfectly pleasant today. Mum talked to me about naming her lilies, and Dad suggested I might summer with them in Paris." Her tone made it clear that neither of these were things Hermione had much interest in.

"What about your job?" Draco asked, raising a brow at the suggestion.

"I don't know," she sighed and stabbed at a piece of pork. "I'm obviously not going to do it. They are leaving before the 10th anniversary thing at Hogwarts. I can't exactly miss that. I told him I could still come visit just as easily in Paris, but that just seems to irritate him."

"You shouldn't be able to travel from one country to another in a moment's notice?"

"No, he'd rather I not."

"Do they just refuse to talk about magic, or what?" Draco seemed genuinely confused that her family could desire to be so ignorant of the world in which she lived.

"Not in so many words. They just try to ignore it and things that make that hard on them make them tense."

"So, you don't talk about your job, the past, or anything to do with magic. What do you talk about?"

"Lilies and dental journals." Hermione laughed and for some reason when Draco joined her, she couldn't stop. She snorted and moved her hand to cover her face as Draco laughed harder.

"That sounds miserable," he told her as he moved to set his container on the table next to him. Hermione did the same, twisting her body to reach the end table behind her as a hand landed on her shin and began to rub her leg through her jeans.

"It is a bit, but I love them. They're my parents."

"I love my parents too, but you couldn't pay me to have a meal with them every week."

Hermione smiled at this and stretched, moving her feet from under him and into his lap. "You are a terrible son," she agreed even as she thought that if Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were her parents, she probably wouldn't dine with them very often either.

"Yes," he agreed, "and husband and friend."

"Well, you are in good company then. I wasn't a very good wife in the end, I'm lying to my friends about you, and my parents hate everything about the way I live my life."

"We are quite a pair," Draco agreed as his hands moved down her legs to her feet. He pushed at her soles with his thumbs. She sank further into the couch, enjoying the feeling of tension leaving her body.

"Yes, we are." She closed her eyes as he worked, listening to the soft music playing in the background as he rubbed. It had only been three weeks since their night together, but Hermione couldn't think of anywhere she would rather be right now. Everything about her old life was complicated and it hurt. Draco had no ties to that life. He didn't know her when she was with Ron. He hadn't seen her life fall apart. He hadn't watched her at her worst. He didn't treat her like she was broken, or he needed to fix her, or take care of her. He was just Draco, she was Hermione, and something about it just fit, like it was a missing piece in the puzzle that was her life now. It made very little sense to her considering the people they had once been, but somehow it worked.

"Draco?" she asked softly, not opening her eyes.

"Yes?" he replied. He was rubbing up her calves now, slowly moving circles into her skin.

"I like being with you." She felt his hands stop. She opened her eyes, and he was looking at her.

"I like being with you," he repeated. His words made something in her chest feel a bit tight. Hermione moved then, pulling herself up to curl next to him. She kissed him softly.

"I'm glad you moved in next door," she admitted.

"Me too." His arm slid up her back so his fingers could get lost in her curls. "I'll probably be terrible for you," he admitted. She tried not to react to the word. She tried to hold still and just keep watching him, but she was sure that he must have been able to hear her heart racing. "But, I'll try," he finished.

"Me too," she leaned in, stopping just before their lips were touching. She liked it. Merlin, did she like it. She was terrified of the idea of telling anyone that she wanted this, but she did. The idea of him being in her life, having lunch with her, taking her out to dinner, sleeping in on the weekends, and not having to be worried about what it all meant was entirely too appealing to deny. She wanted to do it. She wanted to try, but she wasn't sure if it was practical. She had no idea if Draco and Hermione made any sense outside of their flats. "I don't think this is going to be easy."

"Nothing about you has ever seemed easy, Hermione," Draco told her seriously.

"Just that one time." She laughed against his mouth, and he cut her off, pressing their lips together. Her laughter turned into a low moan as Draco kissed her hard and pulled at her, causing her to nearly fall onto his lap. She settled her knees on either side of him, resting chest against chest, feeling him breathe against her.

"Stay the night," he asked, but it wasn't really a question. She had made her decision hours ago standing in her kitchen.

"I won't even sneak out in the morning," Hermione replied with a smirk, a trait she was likely inheriting from him, as her fingers found the hem of his jumper. She pulled it up as she watched him watching her. He hadn't even opened the wine, and there was something about being completely sober that made this moment mean so much more than it would have otherwise. Here she was, Hermione Granger, pulling up the jumper of a man who ten years ago wouldn't have been caught dead touching her, and he, Draco Malfoy, wouldn't stop looking at her like she was the most delicious thing he'd ever seen in his life.

The jumper came up achingly slow, but she was sure that was just her perception. Moments later it lay on the floor as her hands fell gently back to his chest. He was wearing a black undershirt, and for some reason, quite possibly the nostalgia, her eyes were drawn down to the blemish on his left forearm. She touched it. Fingertips grazed the scarred remains of a tattoo that had once been so much more than just ink. He watched her closely, staring down at her movements, shame on his face.

"What was it like?" she whispered the question, hardly believing that she was actually asking it.

"It hurt like a son of a bitch. I threw up and, once it was over, passed out. It wasn't my finest hour." The words were delivered curtly, but she could see something hiding behind his eyes. Something that she couldn't quite place.

She frowned as he tried to turn the scar away from her touch. "I can't believe … I mean I can, obviously they were capable of anything, but you were just a child."

Draco reached for the buttons on her shirt, pulling at them quickly, deliberately. He pushed the fabric down off her shoulders and slid it off of her arms. At first, Hermione was sure he was trying to end the conversation, but when her blouse had joined his jumper he gripped her own forearm in his hand. "So were you. They didn't care much about that either."

Hermione looked down at the word carved there in the skin above his fingers. She barely registered it after all these years. It was just another scar. They all had them. Harry had several; his lightning bolt, the words from Umbridge. Ron as well from splinching and those damn tentacles in the Department of Mysteries. Hermione unconsciously put a hand to her ribs. That spell had left no outward marks, but still after all these years she could remember the pain it had done to her insides. To her, this word held little regard, but to him, it probably represented everything she had experienced that year. He was there. When he was seventeen years old and a madman had taken over his life, he had been forced to watch it being carved into her skin.

"Do you have others?" she asked, pushing the focus away from herself. It felt like something she should know, but she couldn't recall from the one night they had shared. She wasn't sure whether to blame too much firewhiskey or too little sense.

"Several," he said, his voice uneasy.

"I … can I …" Hermione met his eyes, finally letting them ask the question.

Draco lifted his arms above his head, pulling at the cotton until it lifted and then removed the shirt. "You'll have to get up," he told her gently, and she moved off of his lap, sitting beside him on the couch. He turned his body away from her, revealing his back to her. She didn't see them at first. Then, it almost looked like he had tattooed snakes slithering in all different directions. Finally, her eyes adjusted, taking in the sight, and she struggled not to react.

"What is … who?" Each white scar was nearly a foot long and carved into his skin. These scars were not made by any blade. This was magic.

"Several of them," he turned back, hiding the lines from her. "It was a curse he was fond of using to punish, and he taught it to anyone who could stomach it."

"I …"

"It happened a long time ago," Draco added quickly. "You don't have to feel sorry for me. That boy … he wouldn't have felt sorry for you."

"I'm not so sure about that," she retorted, wanting to console him in some way. This conversation clearly made him uneasy.

"I am," he said with a note of finality, but she was unconvinced.

"Stop being stubborn," Hermione chided. "Somehow that boy ended up with me in his flat promising to try not to be a shit boyfriend. There had to be some good in there." She brushed fingers against his temple, brushing them through his hair and behind his ear.

"Maybe." He shrugged, relenting. "Let's stop talking about him."

She let him end the conversation, focusing instead on his fingers moving up her back, his forehead against hers. She could feel his breath against her lips. "Either way, I'm glad you're here," she said softly.

"Me too."

She slid her arms around his neck. His teeth moved over her bottom lip, grazing softly over the flesh, responding eagerly. She nearly moaned as he deepening their kiss. Hermione felt her body tremble in anticipation. She had been thinking about losing herself in him again from the moment she left his flat three weeks ago. There was a very large part of her that couldn't believe she had held out this long. Each time she had seen him since had only seemed to reaffirm that there was something there, something worth sticking around to figure out. She wasn't sure what that something was, but this part was easy. Their bodies slid together as if they had done this a hundred times, and she felt an ache growing for him.

"Bed," he mumbled, and she laughed, but moved to climb off of him. Draco only held her tighter as he pushed up from the couch.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, wrapping her legs around him as he stood.

"Not letting you get away." He began to move towards his room, kissing her neck as he walked. Hermione leaned her head to the side, giving him better access. She was trying to lose herself in his lips on her skin, but her thoughts were stuck back at Hogwarts with Draco Malfoy, the boy that hated her. She couldn't forget the fear that he had emanated at the Battle, or the lost expression that had dominated his face in the photos printed in the _Prophet_ from his trial. Tonight had been the first time that she had felt that boy lingering inside of this man, still scared and lost. She wrapped herself more tightly around him as he pushed his bedroom door open.

Draco moved to his bed and crawled onto it as he let her fall from his arms. He was over her, leaning in to kiss her, and she gripped his back, pulling him down to her. She ran fingers up his bare skin and he fell onto one side so that he could do the same. His free hand started at the edge of her trousers and moved up, memorizing each bit of her skin as he inched his way up her torso. Each slight shift caused new shivers to course through her. His eyes held her gaze and the man was back, the boy and his insecurities had been forgotten once again.

As his fingertips finally caressed the bottom of her bra, Hermione realized that her thighs were rubbing together of their own accord. She tried to stop them, but the best she could do was push them up together, meeting the front of his jeans with an obvious request. Draco was calm, not at all affected by the move, as he slid his fingers languidly around the hem of her bra. She arched as he finally reached the back, praying that he would be quick about removing the barrier between them.

He was not. Instead, Draco seemed to enjoy the way she squirmed as he undid the clasp. His head dipped down to kiss her shoulder and follow the path of her strap as he pulled it down at a painful, leisurely pace. Once she had pulled one arm free of the vile thing, she tried to grip it and pull the other free as well, but Draco gripped her hand and pulled it over her head. "Draco," she growled as he smiled, and shifted his weight to tease her other shoulder. When he finally tossed the bra off the edge of the bed, Hermione was sure she was close to bursting.

Draco gazed down at her breasts for several long moments, his eyes dancing with desire. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and then before she could register what he was doing, that tongue was swirling its way around one hard nipple while his thumb brushed lazily across the other. "Oh …" Hermione arched again, her pelvis pressing against him again as need flooded through her. "Mmmmm…." She closed her eyes, unable to do anything but enjoy the sensation of his wet tongue and gentle fingertips. She willed the layers of fabric between them to vanish, but her wand was still in the other room, and she'd never had a reason to learn wandless magic for this particular problem.

"You taste so damn good," he murmured between soft sucks down her breast to her stomach. His hands moved to either side of her, holding him inches above her. His tongue made soft trails across her stomach and then, with a patience that she was sure should win him a damn award, began to move down. His breath was hot and wet when he reached the button of her trousers. Hermione reached down, trying to help, but he laughed and shook his head. "No. This is mine." He pushed her away with one hand and claimed the button for his own, pulling the hole over metal. She sighed as she felt the zipper begin to slide down.

Draco bent back on his knees, still over her as a hand found each hip and his fingers pulled her jeans down revealing her long legs to him. She watched him as he took in her lacy red knickers, and for the first time his cool demeanor seemed to crack. There was a flash of something urgent in his eyes and he pulled the jeans down at a much more satisfying pace.

Once they were gone, his mouth returned to her hips, kissing softly at the fabric of her knickers. Hermione pulled her knees up, opening her legs to him, blushing at the sensation of his mouth so close to her core. "Fuck," he breathed as he inhaled. She barely heard the word fall from his lips, and she wasn't sure that she was supposed to. She smiled and pulled her bottom lip in with her teeth. She was affecting him just as much as he was affecting her.

"Mmmmm…." she moaned, sliding her body, pressing closer to him. His fingers dug into her hips at the edge of the final bit of cloth clinging to her, and she grinned to herself as she felt the silky sensation of them sliding down her legs. Before they were even off, he had leaned down claiming her lips with his tongue. She gasped and gripped the sheets at the unexpected sensation. "Shit. Draco," she said through a real moan this time, trying hard not to buck her hips into him as his tongue slid up to her clit and rested there to swirl perfect circles. "Shit," she repeated.

Hermione could feel her body tensing, moving towards the beginning of blissful release. One of Draco's hands found its way back to her center, and fingers slid inside of her, mimicking the motions she had been imagining for weeks. All the while his tongue worked, teasing her, pulling from her sensations she had long forgotten, causing her to move one hand from the sheets to his hair, gripping it harder than was probably necessary as noises that she would never admit to slipped from her her mouth between, "Draco," and "Shit," and "Yes," and "There," and "Oh my Fuck."

Her body tensed as he pushed her closer and closer to the edge, sucking at her clit between swirls, curling his fingers as he stroked, making urgent, heavy noises of his own. And then she was lost in sensation as waves of pleasure moved from his tongue, through her, releasing every ounce of tension he had given her in a blissful river of delight. She knew that she screamed something, but she couldn't have recalled what in the moments after as she lay beneath him, her body worn out from his teasing.

Draco suffered from no such lethargy. He pulled at the button on his own jeans and pushed them down along with his pants. He moved over her body, and kissed her breasts, her neck, her mouth, as she roused, pulling his face to hers. She could taste herself on his lips and this sent a shot of lust through her body, landing in her still sensitive core. One hand slid down his chest, down his stomach, and wrapped around his hardness.

She felt his breathing quicken as her fingers began to stroke him, sliding slowly up and down as she repositioned her hips to meet him. Her hand fell away, and he pushed, finally, inside of her. There was no moment of hesitation, no waiting for her to adjust, he pulled back out of her, and pushed back in. His teeth bit down into her shoulder, and she met his next thrust with one of her own. He gained speed as she seemed to regain energy.

Hands were everywhere, gripping whatever they could find to hold onto and sliding as their bodies moved together over and over. Draco's face stayed buried in her hair near her shoulder as he filled her. She arched her neck, offering it to him to lick and bite and kiss, which he did eagerly. Hermione knew that he was close when his nails dug into her side. She dug in her own nails as he quickened again, pumping into her as he spilled inside of her and she heard him moan "Hermione," into her neck. He slowed through his last few strokes and then fell down onto her.

His weight was a welcome presence, making the moment seem real. Her eyes were closed, but she could feel his body on hers, smell sex in the air, and she was so very aware. This was nothing like the quick, fuzzy, regretful memories she had from their first time. Draco's body moved, rolling to the side as his lips touched her shoulder briefly. She thought she heard him mumble something that sounded like "bloody amazing," and she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her lips. He tried to hold her as she moved to climb out of the bed, but she pushed him away.

"I'll be right back," she promised, and kissed him softly before pulling herself out of the bed.

"You had better be," he told her as he watched her walk into his bathroom, entirely naked.

Hermione cleaned herself up in the bathroom, taking as long as she could without being obvious about the fact that she had needed some time alone to think about what they had just done. She had slept with him, with Draco, she had been entirely sober, and she had loved every moment of it. When she pushed the door back open, Draco was still in bed, but he was clearly asleep. She crawled in beside him again. Draco's body moved closer to hers, pulling her into him with one arm as she closed her eyes.

 **A/N: I need to take a moment to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Dramione shippers … well … let's be real. We have a rap. It can be rough out there for a Dramione writer. Almost every review I have received on this story has been positive, uplifting, and encouraging. I am blown away by your words and by the time you take to leave me notes. I appreciate it so much. It means the world to me. I enjoy writing this story and I love the team of betas that I have to keep me chugging, but your words seriously encourage me that I must be getting something right, so THANK YOU !**

 **Also, yes that one bit was a nod to The Deadline. If you have not yet experienced this incredible fic, go read it. You will NOT be sorry. One of my top 5. Possibly top 1.**

 **Finally, I hope that this was satisfyingly lemony. My betas seemed pleased and they have been waiting (not so patiently) for this scene forever. I couldn't hold out any longer, hence the early-ish update. Let me know your thoughts !**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	12. Chapter 12

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy … I am exceptionally lucky to have each and every one of you. Thank you for your work on this chapter ! **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Twelve**

When Hermione woke for the second time in the bed of Draco Malfoy, she was much more aware of her surroundings and indeed pleased to be in them. She did not open her eyes at first for fear that once she did she would wake from a dream, but the weight of an arm loosely hanging over her waist and the unfamiliar smell of his pillow made her smile at the realization that it was indeed reality. She opened her eyes, slowly letting them become accustomed to the light streaming in the window. One look to her right told her that Draco still slept, his mouth slightly parted as he breathed, causing his body to rise just enough that she could feel the movement, but not enough to be bothered.

She pushed herself up carefully, sliding from underneath his arm as slowly as possible and left the bed. Instead of gathering her things for a quick exit once again, Hermione decided to make breakfast, because that was what normal people did in the morning when they stayed over. Well, she was sort of guessing that. She had never stayed over with Ron until they were living together.

By searching his kitchen, she found that Draco Malfoy enjoyed food quite a lot, or at least he enjoyed having it around. Between his fridge, cabinets, and pantry she imagined that one might feed Hogwarts for nearly two weeks, and that was no small feat. Deciding not to venture into the extreme that was certainly possible given the various foods hidden inside of his kitchen, Hermione went for the old standby and made pancakes. By the time Draco emerged from his room in naught but his boxers, she had just begun to eat while she read the morning paper. "You look good in my clothes, Hermione," he informed her as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. He moved to get a glass of pumpkin juice from the counter.

"Thank you. Would you like a pancake?" she asked setting down the Daily Prophet to look over at him.

"I would love one." He joined her at the table and forked food onto his plate. "Do you always get up so early?"

She smiled at him then. "Yes, I always get up 'so early'. I always have and I probably always will. It seems a waste of perfectly good daylight to spend it sleeping."

"As long as you make me breakfast, you can get up as early as you like when you are here." He grinned at the implication that he would be having her as a house guest more often, leaving Hermione with a not entirely unpleasant twist in her stomach. "I must admit I was a little surprised to see you still here when I woke."

Hermione raised an eye at him. "Why is that?"

Draco set down his fork and took a drink of his juice before looking at her again. "Part of me thought you might be feeling guilty and leave me here alone to defend myself against Potter's wife again."

"No, I made my choice, and I'm not planning to tell Ginny about being here, so I doubt she will show up on your doorstep this morning."

As Draco opened his mouth to respond, there was a knock at the front door. They both looked out across the kitchen in the general direction of the door and then back at each other. "I guess I'll go get that," Draco said, rising from his seat. "If it is Potter's wife, I'm ratting you out. To be honest, she terrifies me, and I intend on having children one day." He left for the living room to grab the door, leaving Hermione behind to stared at his half eaten breakfast as she bit her lip.

Instead of Ginny yelling, she heard a male voice, one that was responded to by Draco. As they continued to speak, Hermione turned to try and see who it was. Draco had the door nearly all the way shut, but she saw the man outside move a hand into the door frame and she knew who it was. Draco argued with him for a few more minutes, and then, resigned, opened it to allow Blaise Zabini to enter. Unlike Draco, she had seen Zabini all too much for her taste since they had both been working for the Ministry for years. Draco walked back towards her as Blaise followed behind, a smug smile on his face.

"I tried," Draco told her quickly, the apology clear on his face.

"So, it is you." Zabini's eyes traced the shape of her legs beneath the boxers she had stolen from Draco's drawer.

Choosing to ignore their guest, Hermione rose from her chair and took her dishes to the sink. Usually, she would wash her dishes by hand, but as she remembered that Blaise Zabini was just as prejudiced as the next Slytherin pureblood, she flicked her wand and walked towards Draco's room, without a backward glance.

"Not much of a social butterfly, Draco," Blaise told his friend as soon as she had vanished.

"I don't reckon she was very pleased to see you, though I can hardly say the same for you about her. I will indeed cause you harm if you look at her that way again." He retook his place at the table and motioned for Blaise to join him, which he did.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do when I see a half naked woman at your table, who I might remind you is not your wife and happens to be the woman you denied being involved with to the Prophet and, more importantly, to Theo and I."

"My soon to be ex-wife if you please, and you know that I wasn't screwing around on Pansy. She is getting what she deserves." Draco spoke calmly and continued to eat slowly.

"But, Granger? What the bloody hell are you thinking?" Blaise let his hand drop to the table which made a louder noise than he expected, and they both stared at his hand for a second. "She's Potter's Granger. She married into that horrific brood of Weasleys."

Draco decided to ignore the answer Blaise was fishing for and instead supplied, "She doesn't belong to anyone. She's just my neighbor."

"Is this the first time she's stayed over at your flat?" Blaise asked pointedly. Draco did not make eye contact. Blaise switched directions. "So, are you saying this is an arrangement based on convenience? You are a wizard. You could just as easily floo to a pureblood as you can walk to her door." Blaise looked back uneasily as if he was worried that Hermione might be standing behind him. "She's dirty-blood if you will remember, mate. You can't be messing with the likes of her. Leave this alone and move on. Astoria …"

Draco had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Blaise, leave it with bloody Astoria. Hermione is not dirty and you need to shut the fuck up about it. I know that I can trust you to keep quiet that I was entertaining her this morning." It was not a question, Draco did know that Blaise would take his secrets, no matter how big or small, to the grave, not out of loyalty, but rather because Draco knew too many of his own secrets to risk angering him.

"I'm telling Theo."

"Not Daphne."

"Fine. Merlin knows I don't need that to listen to anyway. Are you coming to the match with me?" he asked then, moving from his chair.

"No," Draco replied with a look at the door of his bedroom.

"You are an idiot, mate. This conversation isn't over."

"It is for now," Draco said pointedly.

And, then Blaise was gone, and Draco was left cleaning the dishes. As he worked, he heard the shower turn on in his bathroom. He sighed heavily and gripped the edge of the sink. He imagined that she was going to be royally pissed off that Blaise Zabini had seen her.

When he reached the bathroom ten minutes later, he had already deposited his boxers on the floor of his bedroom. The door of the shower slid open easily and he found her standing directly under the water, completely still. "Did he really leave?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, stepping in and shutting the door behind him. "Are you trying to drown yourself?" She turned to face him and shook her head.

"Just washing away the dirt I suppose." She had clearly listened to their conversation. "Thank you for not agreeing with him by the way. I know that he is your friend, and I suspect that must have been difficult."

"No, it wasn't," he said, reaching behind her for the soap, which he rubbed between his hands. She couldn't help but grin appreciatively at this, especially when he began to rub soap into his skin while fully naked before her.

"Do you trust that he won't tell Daphne for sure?"

"Yes. Blaise Zabini is nothing if not looking out for himself, and in this case, looking out for himself means that he keeps his mouth shut about what he witnessed here this morning. I know too many of his secrets." He finished with his soap and reached behind her again for his shampoo.

"What exactly was he witnessing this morning?" she asked, careful to watch his face for any reaction, which was hardly likely to give even the slightest clue as he had moved past her to rinse off his hair and body.

"Breakfast," he said simply, turning back to her.

"Draco …" He moved towards her which resulted in her being pushed against the wall of the shower. His hand took its place on the wall beside her as the other comfortably sat on her waist. Water rolled down his back as he stared into her eyes.

"Hermione…" he responded, dipping down to give her a kiss that she had been waiting for since she woke that morning. "You are so damn sexy in my shower," he growled, his lips brushing hers as he spoke.

"I need to know what this is to you," she told him, trying not to get distracted by him hard against her leg.

He looked around quickly and then back into her eyes. "This is a shower," he told her, his face serious, though they both knew he was just avoiding her question.

"Honestly," she pushed him away, and stepped out of the shower, leaving the door open behind her as the water shut off.

"What's wrong?" he asked, watching her wrap her body in a towel, hiding all of the parts of her that he wanted to touch from view.

"I thought I was okay with this, but I just need to know what you expect from me before I can even let you know if I am capable of giving it to you." Her hair was soaked and dripping all over his bathroom floor, but neither one of them seemed to care.

Draco grabbed a towel from above the rack and began to dry off as well. "What do you mean 'capable of giving it to me'? You are very capable of …"

"Teenagers are capable of sex, Draco. The fact that I can have sex with you doesn't mean that I can give you other things you might desire from a relationship. " She was staring at him, arms across her chest, her barely covered breasts still trying to distract him from the serious tone of her voice.

"Hermione, I just want to see where this goes. I'm not even officially divorced, and I don't plan on getting married again right away, if ever. That would be ridiculous."

She sighed and pushed a piece of wet hair from her face. She covered her face with her hand and then let it fall down to her side. "When you went to answer the door, you said that you intend on having children someday."

"Not today. If that is what has you all hot and bothered, then you need to calm down." He moved towards her and rubbed her shoulders with his hands. "I'm not asking you to have a baby."

"I'm not sure I can go through that again," she said, and it felt strange. It was the first time she had expressed this thought out loud.

He moved his hands down her arms and squeezed softly. "What do you mean?"

"After I lost Rose ... I don't think I can have any more children." She felt like crying then, which really made everything so much better in her opinion. Not only had she already been blubbering on to Draco about them having children, now she was about to start crying about it.

"Hermione," he pulled her in, at a loss for words, and the tears spilled over, falling down her wet face.

"I'm fine, I just ... I need you to know... I'm not planning on having children, and if that is a problem, then I understand." She was sure that he would ask her to leave. That the past three crazy weeks would become a distant memory, and she would revert back to crying in her shower and being so alone once again. She was sure when he moved his lips down the few inches to brush them against hers that it would be for the last time. His hands were firm on her back, holding her tight as he kissed her softly.

When he pulled his lips back, his hands didn't let her go. "I still say we should just see where this goes. It was just something I said, and I didn't think about before it came out."

"Okay," she said.

"I'm sorry that Blaise came by. He knew it was you when I tried not to let him in. He was trying to get me to head to the game with him, but he never comes by this early." He felt her pull back as he finished talking.

"Should I go then?" she asked.

He held her close, moving his hand to pull at the corner of her towel tucked between her breasts. "I was hoping you would stay." Draco's lips found her ear. "I was hoping you were feeling a bit tired still." Electricity rushed through her as her towel fell and her body was flush against his again. "I was hoping," he said again as his hand moved between her legs, one delicious finger sliding inside, "that you were so tired that you were probably going to spend the day in bed."

"I don't know. I think I have some work to do," she teased.

He added a second finger to the first, feeling her breath hitch. "No more work, Granger." Her surname rolled off his lips like a promise. She whimpered as his thumb grazed against her clit for a single moment before he pulled his hand away from her.

"Malfoy," she retorted, annoyed.

"Get in my bed," Draco grinned and kissed the side of her mouth.

"Make me," she smirked as she crossed her arms. Moments later, she was laughing in delight as he tossed her onto his blankets and moved over her. She was still laughing when his mouth found hers. She wrapped her arms up and around his neck, pulling him closer.

He knew that last night he had been with her in this very bed and just minutes ago she had been naked in his shower watching him as he washed his skin, but Draco could still hardly believe that this woman, Hermione Granger, was in his bed. She was writhing beneath him, her skin brushing his, her hips pushing against his, and Draco still felt like he was waiting for her to wake up and realize that she shouldn't be here. He wanted her here. It had been completely unexpected, and it was entirely crazy, but he desired this contact with her more than he could remember wanting anything in his life. She was smart and funny and broken in ways that were so different and so similar at the same time to the ways that he was broken.

"Draco…" she whispered his name against his ear and he realized that he had been lost in his thoughts of her. One hand had moved down his chest and thigh and gripped him as she spoke.

"Fuck, Hermione," he rasped, and he felt her smile against his neck as she brought his tip to her core.

"Precisely," she replied, the smile carried into her voice as Draco pushed his hips against hers again and felt her body welcome him. She moaned as his length filled her, and he dipped down to lick and kiss her neck as nails found his back. He fell into a rhythm as they both began to breathe heavily and his thoughts lost the coherency they had just minutes ago. He didn't care about the reasons or whether or not they made sense. He just needed this rock of his hips and the grip of her fingers on his skin.

And then, she was pushing against him, rolling them to his side and his back and, she was astride him. She pushed up on his chest and grinned, and Draco couldn't remember seeing a sexier, more terrible grin in his entire life. "My turn," she leaned down to kiss his chest as he bucked his hips against her. She had killed the quick, steady rhythm that he had adopted and his body was not happy. "No," she laughed and dug her knees into the mattress on either side of his hips.

"Hermione…" he warned, and she pulled her hands down his chest and then up her own body. He nearly turned her back onto her back as he watched her fingers trail over her own taut nipples, but this was new, and he thought he liked it. She was taking control and intentionally driving him crazy.

"What do you want?" she asked, and he glared at her. What was she playing at?

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"What do you want?" she repeated, admonishing. His cock twitched.

Draco growled and placed his hands on her hips, his fingers buried in the flesh there. "You moving. Now." Hermione grinned as the words fell reluctantly from his lips and he felt her thighs pull up against his. She slid up his length torturously slowly and nearly giggled as she watched him squint in agony. "You are awful," he moaned.

"I can stop," she suggested, pulling away as if to move off of him, but he gripped her tightly.

"Don't." He was pleading with her, begging her to move. "Just … faster."

"All you had to do was ask," Hermione teased, and slid her body down his quickly. Her chest fell against his, and he bucked his hips again as she planted her knees again and her body began to move more quickly, bobbing up and down as her teeth gripped his lip and her fingers locked in his hair. He moved to meet her over and over as she released his lip and let him kiss her hard. She had never been sexier to him than in that moment as she breathed heavily into his kiss and her body moved over him.

He felt her pulling him closer and closer to bliss, making him crazy as he slipped a hand down between them. His thumb found that bundle of nerves again, and she shook against him, the tremor disrupting her perfect rhythm for a single moment before he began to swirl his thumb in a perfect circle around her.

"Draco," she sighed softly against his lips and her forehead rested against his. Her eyes closed and he could feel her focus on their joined bodies, on the sensation rocking through her. He did the same, trying as hard as he could to hold back, to resist the feel of her wet and tight around him.

She moaned. Her fingers tightened in his hair and her walls tightened around him as he slid inside of her. "Ohhh…" the noise left her mouth in a long, delicious shaky breath as she let go and Draco moved to flip her back on her back. Hermione wrapped her legs around him as he began to pump into her more quickly. Her eyes were open, watching him, and he took in her features. Her eyes were heavy with satisfaction, her lips parted with the ghost of her moans, her cheeks pink with exertion, and he lost himself inside of her at the sight. After a few final thrusts, Draco collapsed, letting his weight fall onto Hermione and then rolling to the side, reluctantly pulling out of her.

"Definitely tired," she whispered, though he was the only person who could hear her.

"Bed all day," he grinned, looking over to see her smile.

"And night," she agreed.

 **A/N: Here you are. The last bit hasn't been beta'd so all the flaws are solely my fault. My beta team is magical but I promised to expand this ending for them and then didn't get to it until the last minute due to a rough week. Which is also why this update is coming at you early Friday morning instead of Thursday. We are dealing with family health issues, but hopefully it will all be resolved quickly.**

 **As always, I would love to hear from you if you are reading. Thank you for all of your beautiful words of encouragement. They mean so much to me!**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	13. Chapter 13

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy … You are my friends first and my betas second and I love you. Thank you for your time and your energy on this story. **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Thirteen:**

Any hopes that Draco had of Blaise giving him a few days to figure out exactly how he would explain his relationship with Hermione to his friends were dashed on Monday morning when an owl arrived informing him that he had lunch reservations with his two best mates. He groaned and tried to owl Blaise back that he was busy. This attempt proved unsuccessful when Blaise's next owl informed Draco that the lunch had been cleared with his assistant. Draco needed to fire the bloody woman. He spent the morning in meetings with the Goblins, which always put him in a great mood, and left at noon for the restaurant.

When he arrived, Theo was already drinking while Blaise nursed a water and looked over the menu.

"Don't you have a job?" Draco asked Theo as he fell into his seat. A waitress appeared out of nowhere and asked him for his beverage order. He asked for water as well and she vanished.

Theo shrugged and took another sip of his whiskey. Blaise eyed the move with dissatisfaction. "He's taking the afternoon off."

"Must be nice."

"It is, actually," Theo said cheerily. "Now, what is this I heard about your company this weekend."

"You already told him?" Draco asked Blaise, glaring.

"I went straight to his house after I left your flat," Blaise smirked back, not backing down.

"So, you are shagging _her_?" Theo asked, careful not to use her name, which Draco appreciated despite the urge he had to throttle his friend for his choice of wording.

"Not that it is really any of your concern, but yes." Draco lifted his menu and glanced over his options. "We are seeing each other."

"In your bed," Theo quipped.

"Not exclusively," Draco's grip on the menu tightened, and he glared across the table.

"So, her bed too?" Blaise asked, one corner of his mouth lifted in an amused grin.

"No," Draco told them. "In restaurants, on dates, not just in bed."

"You are dating her? A Muggle-born?" Theo lowered his voice as he spoke.

"Yes."

"Hmmm, didn't think you had this much desire for revenge left in you," Blaise said, eyeing Draco closely.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, confused. Surely they didn't think he was with Hermione for revenge on Potter? He hadn't cared about Potter in years.

"A rebound fuck that would piss off Pansy this much."

Oh. That. Draco set the menu back down on the table. "That isn't what this is about."

"Come on, Draco." Theo leaned in, his brows furrowed. "You can't be fucking serious."

"I am."

"Your parents," Blaise insisted.

"I'm aware of what their reactions will be. They are _my_ parents." Draco snapped. He was quickly losing his patience with this conversation.

"Holy fuck. Are you planning to take this public? Fuck what you told the Prophet three bloody weeks ago?" Theo asked, incredulous.

"We won't be doing that for awhile. We haven't even told anyone." Draco did his best to keep his face straight.

"So, you're her dirty little secret?" Theo leaned back as he spoke. "Maybe you're her revenge fuck."

"I'm not."

"Could be," Blaise agreed with Theo. "Has she brought up telling Potter? He likely won't be happy."

"Fuck. Drop it."

"So we're testy about it." Blaise lifted an eyebrow, that smug lilt of his lips drove Draco crazy.

"No, I'm testy about you two cocks talking about this in the middle of a fucking restaurant." Draco spat the sentence as quietly as he could without losing the intensity of his words.

"It's a Muggle place. They don't even know who you are," Theo reminded him.

"Yes, because we all know that Prophet employees don't go into the Muggle world," Blaise said with a roll of his eyes.

"So, you like her? For real?" Theo asked then.

"Yes," Draco said shortly, wanting nothing more than to drop the subject.

"You've lost it, mate."

"Possibly." Draco knew that nothing about this was going to be easy. Hermione was complicated. She had a history that went well beyond the war, scars that went deeper than the ones on her arm. She was what most wizards would probably call damaged. She was nearly everything he thought he wouldn't want when he had contemplated life after Pansy. She was intense, and though he would swear neither of them had wanted anything serious, it was quickly becoming just that. Despite what he thought he wanted or needed, here he was discussing her over lunch with Blaise and Theo while a not so small part of him wished that he was with her instead. Something about her pulled him in, and he wasn't about to let go. He was going to stick around as long as she would let him and that meant that eventually, his parents and her friends were going to have to be told. The Wizarding world would have to be told. Trying to figure this one out was going to be a public relations nightmare, but he didn't care. He was in. There was no doubt in his mind that he was very, very in on whatever Hermione was willing to give him. He didn't care how complicated she was or if it meant that he had lost it.

"I wish I could go back in time and tell you about this in sixth year." Theo laughed, and Blaise joined in.

"You would have killed us."

Draco frowned. "Why do I stay friends with you?"

"Because we are the only people that put up with your bullshit," Blaise told him.

"And force me into lunch conversations that I don't want to have."

"Well, then. Let's discuss things you may want to know. Pansy is settled. She and Daphne had lunch yesterday."

"Great," Draco sighed. He didn't know what to feel about that. He was relieved that it seemed Pansy was accepting that they were truly getting divorced. He was annoyed that Daphne was still carrying on with her. He did not begrudge Daphne her friendship, but he did care that it meant he and Pansy would surely cross paths eventually, probably more than he would like.

"When are you going to make this divorce official?"

"We're waiting on paperwork. It should be the next week or two." Draco had been trying his best to push it through, but even with his name and money, these things took time and one could only rush them so much.

"Well, with your current hobby, I would push for it to be sooner rather than later. You are still technically married," Blaise reminded him.

"Pansy is living with another man," Draco insisted.

"And you're apparently falling for arguably the most famous witch in Britain. Who do think would be getting more press?" Blaise asked pointedly.

"Noted." Draco didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about the fact that he was still married or that Hermione could technically be seen as his mistress if this got out. He was done with his marriage. Pansy was done, but it was not legal. It was not binding yet, and if it got out that he and Hermione were seeing each other before the divorce was final it would be very bad for both of them.

"I can't believe you lied to us." Theo shook his head and took another drink of his whiskey.

"Yes," Draco shook his head. "Because you both are taking this so well."

"We will get over it. You know that."

"Even for her? You're going to have her to your houses for tea and invite her to your events and support me when this all goes to shit in the paper?" Draco doubted it. Just two days ago Blaise had stood in his kitchen remarking on her dirty blood.

"Of course." Blaise snapped.

"What the hell else would we do?" Theo asked.

Draco scoffed and shook his head.

"Look, Draco," Theo joined his hands in front of him on the table. "You're a fucking wanker. You lied to us and kept this from us, but we'll be damned if we let you burn over this." Draco met Theo's eyes and saw in them a seriousness and an intensity that he had rarely seen there. He looked over at Blaise and his mouth had lost its tilt. His lips were straight and he nodded his head shortly once.

"Here you are, sir." Draco looked up at the waitress as she set his water before him. "What can I bring you for lunch?" she asked, and he looked back at his menu, having forgotten what he was going to order.

XXX

By Friday afternoon, Draco was quite done with work. He wanted nothing more than to have a quiet night in with Hermione, but then the Minister had owled him. His plans went out the window and his images of his evening with Hermione were replaced with the meeting with the Minister himself and Harry Potter.

In the beginning, he was hopeful. He thought perhaps it would be a short meeting. He walked into the Minister's office at five past four. Kingsley was sitting behind his desk laughing. Potter was sitting across from him and turned to see Draco as he walked into the room. This was the first time he had seen the man since Hermione had told him about their first night together, but Draco knew that Potter was still oblivious to the fact that their relationship had continued. He had no idea that Draco was starting to look at Hermione and see something in the future, something that involved this man in front of him being informed that they were together.

Potter's smile fell into a stern line, "Malfoy," he said curtly, and Draco nodded.

"Auror Potter," he replied, trying not to let his voice fall into anything outside his normal range. He had done this before. He and Potter had been in several meeting together since the savior had been made Head of the Department, the youngest Head ever. It didn't matter that he knew that Draco had slept with Hermione. It didn't matter, and he couldn't let it, because a small part of him, a part that he wanted to ignore and shove down into the depths of wherever it had come from, wanted this man to approve of, or at least be okay with, his relationship with Hermione when he eventually found out about it.

Kingsley, the damn knowing bastard, had looked curiously between the pair of them as Draco had taken his seat, and then he began to speak. Within the first few minutes, Draco had been filled in that Potter wanted to restructure the way he spent his entire budget and that Kingsley was hoping to expand the resources that Potter had to use during the restructure. Basically, they wanted him to come up with money that didn't exist. He knew then that the meeting was going to be late, and he was going to miss the dinner Hermione had told him that she wanted to cook for him.

When they took a breather an hour and a half into their meeting, Draco sent her an interdepartmental memo breaking the news to her. They ended up with a menagerie of paper spread across a large table as they moved in circles around it, debating and discussing the changes to the spending that the Auror department would be allowed to make and the effect it would have on the Magical Law Enforcement budget and the Ministry's overall budget. They worked through dinner. Kingsley's assistant brought them sandwiches at some point, and Harry started talking to him like he always had in their meetings at another point. They were still debating salaries at half past eight when Kingsley finally pulled his hand down his face in exasperation. "Okay, enough," he sighed. "We will have to pick this back up. Are you both available Monday?"

Potter nodded, and Draco said, "I can clear my schedule." He had several meetings already scheduled for Monday, but this was not something would allow to be decided without his presence. They agreed to meet Monday morning, and Draco found himself walking to the lift with Harry.

Harry glanced at his watch and sighed. "Gin is going to kill me," he sighed softly, and Draco was sure that he wasn't actually being spoken to.

"Have plans tonight, Potter?" he asked, anyway.

"'Spose to. Reckon it's too late now."

"Only Kingsley would schedule a meeting like this for a Friday afternoon," Draco replied, shaking his head as they stepped onto the lift.

"He doesn't have anyone to go home to," Harry said as he followed him. "I think he forgets that the rest of, well," Harry glanced in his direction, "most of us have someone to go home to."

Draco forced his mouth not to curl into a sneer. Hermione would kill him if he let it slip, in a lift of all places, that they were together, especially in response to Harry's comment about his social life. They stood in silence. Draco shifted his weight from one foot to the other as Harry stared at the doors. When they opened, the two men walked out towards the Floo. Harry led the way, and Draco let him stay several paces ahead of him. When he reached a fireplace, Harry turned back, his mouth already open, "Malfoy …" he started and looked down at his shoes and then back up to meet his eyes. "I …" He stopped speaking.

Draco stood there, waiting for several long moments. "I'll see you, Monday," he said finally, and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, Monday."

XXX

Hermione was in her pyjamas already when she opened the door. Draco had pulled her into him as soon as the door was shut behind him. He kissed her softly, moving his arms around her back. "Fucking Kingsley," he complained, as she gripped the t-shirt he had changed into in before coming over.

"I can't believe he kept you this late," Hermione agreed.

"Potter says it's because he doesn't have anyone. I'm going to have to find him a girl if this is going to become a regular thing."

Hermione pulled back from him and laughed. "Good luck." She held his hand as they moved towards her room.

"You're not even going to pretend to entertain me out here?" he asked. She glared back at him.

"I was already in bed reading. I had to crawl out from the covers to come let you in."

"It's nine!"

"And you weren't here. This is what I do. I crawl into bed and read."

"You better not be planning on reading any more." He stopped her, pushing her against the wall outside her door. Hermione moved on instinct, revealing her neck to him as his mouth fell to taste her skin.

"You are awful," she said, but her smile softened the words.

"I'm sorry I missed dinner," he said softly against her shoulder as his lips moved down slowly.

"Me too. I was looking forward to cooking for you."

"Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Sure. I'll have lunch with my parents, but after ..."

"After, you are mine," he lifted her slightly ,and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned down to kiss him as he walked into her room. He dropped her on her bed, and she laughed.

"All yours," she agreed. "How was your meeting?"

Draco groaned as he climbed on the bed next to her. "Fucking long. We're doing it again Monday morning."

Hermione fell back against her pillow and rolled over to look at him as he lay next to her. "How was Harry?" She was suddenly quieter, more reserved, and it was clear to him, in that moment, that she had been dying to ask him since the moment he walked in her door.

"He was weird at first, then normal. And then I think he tried to bring you up right before we Flooed home."

"Bring me up?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I didn't tell him anything," Draco told her. He was sure that he covered it well, but he was annoyed. He didn't know whether he was annoyed at her not wanting him to tell Harry, or her not trusting him not to say anything.

"Oh, okay, but still … What was he going to say to you?"

"I don't know." He reached a hand out and pushed a loose curl away from her face. His fingers lingered on her cheek, and he leaned in to kiss her softly. "I think we should," Draco told her.

"Should what?"

"Tell him."

"Yeah," she sighed softly against his lips. "I know. It isn't that I don't want to tell them, I just …" she stopped talking. One hand moved up his chest and her fingers sent shivers through his body, even through the layer of cotton. He didn't talk. He needed her to finish her thought. He wanted to know what was going on in her head. After several long moments, she pulled back from him enough to meet his eyes. "I like being with you, and I know that when we start telling people it is going to get complicated."

"We don't have to let it."

Hermione shook her head and let out a short laugh. "We won't be the ones making it complicated. It will be our friends and our families and all of the people who read the Prophet who think they get a say in how we live our lives. You aren't even actually divorced yet."

"I know," he conceded. "I'm doing everything I can to expedite the process."

"I know you are. I just want to wait to tell anyone else until you're divorced." She leaned in to kiss him, and he let her lips move against his. She pulled at the fabric of his shirt, and he stopped her.

"If Blaise and Theo can get over it, surely Potter can. And we don't have to tell the whole world to tell your friends. I just don't think it's a great idea to lie to him about it for months and then expect him to just be okay with this. I'm going to be seeing a lot more of him, at least the next few weeks."

"He will be okay with it." Hermione agreed. "I know he will, eventually, but is it really that wrong to want you to be just mine for a little while longer? To get to know you better without having to defend myself? It won't be months. I promise."

Draco sighed and shook his head. "Never in my life did I think I would be arguing with you about when we would tell Potter we were dating."

"Well, neither did I, but we'll figure it out." Hermione kissed him again, and this time when she reached for his shirt, he did not push her away.

 **A/N: All my apologies for being late this week. My husband has still been sick and I got behind. I am already nearly done with 14 so hopefully this will not happen again!**

 **Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and support and for letting me know what you like about this story! I appreciate it so much. You make me laugh and smile and my heart explode a bit with joy when I read them. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.**

 **Everyone send extra love to oblivion . baby this week. She beta'd this chapter twice in 24 hours because google docs ate her first edits. She is exceptional, and I couldn't do this half as well without her.**

 **Also … this story is becoming longer and longer as I write it and plan things out and tweak the plan so … I'm not going anywhere for awhile. Haha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	14. Chapter 14

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy … I love you all so much. You are my favorites ever. Thank you for your time, your love, and your eyes that catch my crazy. **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Fourteen:**

Hermione had claimed George for lunch on his birthday. She couldn't handle the Burrow. Lavender would surely be there, and Ron. She wasn't ready to see them together, and the memory of who wasn't there would haunt her, so she wrote George several weeks back and demanded that he let her steal him away for lunch. She left her office and Flooed to her building to meet him outside in Diagon Alley. He was waiting for her with a takeaway bag in hand when she arrived. His arms moved around her quickly, pulling her close squeezing just tight enough. Her breath hitched and tears burned her eyes as she clenched them shut. She hated George's birthday nearly as much as he did.

He put his free arm around her shoulder as they walked back into the building. Hermione smiled softly at Howard as she passed him. He tipped his head in her direction and looked back at the doors.

"How you been?" George asked as they waited for the lift.

"I'm good. Really good. Did you take the day off?"

"Of course." George always took the 1st off. He would hide away all day if his family would let him, but none of them would. His wife, Angelina, usually took the day with him, and they would do something to distract him. Molly would make dinner at The Burrow in the evening. They tried to keep him busy. They tried to keep him from thinking too hard about it, but Hermione knew that it never worked. George's smiles were always forced and his laughs too loud.

"How's Angelina?"

"Chasing Freddie. We took him to buy his first broom today." The smile that crossed his lips nearly seemed genuine.

Hermione led the way onto the lift, and he followed. "Aren't you suppose to receive the gifts on your birthday?" she teased.

"I don't need any gifts. I like to spoil him."

"I'd love to see him on that thing." Hermione laughed at the thought of George's three-year old zooming around on a child's broom. The boy was shaping up to do his namesake proud.

"Come round for dinner. Bring Malfoy." George waggled his eyebrows at her, and Hermione's heart skipped a beat at the suggestion until she remembered that George would have heard about her supposed affair with Malfoy just like everyone else.

"Yes. I will." She rolled her eyes as the lift doors slid open, and she led the way to her flat.

"I thought Ron's head was going to explode the day that article was in the Prophet."

"I know. He came to my office." _And punched Draco in the face, because I actually did sleep with him, and I still am actually._ She opened the door with her wand and led George inside. They both fell onto her sofa. Hermione pulled the table closer to them and George began to pull the food out. He had gone with Indian, and it smelled delicious.

"I wish you would come tonight," he admitted once they both had food in front of them.

"I think that would be pretty awkward don't you?" Harry had told her last week that it was to be Lavender's first Weasley gathering. It would be wrong of Hermione to show up to this party after all this time avoiding the large gatherings.

"I would rather have you there than her," he grumbled. "You will hide with me in the garden and drink. I doubt Lavender will do the same."

Hermione shook her head, smiling softly. "I will miss that." She nudged his knee with hers. "Give her a shot, okay? For me?"

"She's not you," George said quietly.

"Yeah, well, you still have me."

"Come to the next one?" George stared at her until she had no choice but to meet his gaze.

"Okay, okay. You give Lavender a real chance, and I will come to the next one. I'll even bring Malfoy," she teased, and George actually laughed. He had no idea how happy it made her to see him laugh even as her stomach twisted in knots. She and Draco could be public by the next one. George had no idea how much of a possibility it was that he could be her date.

XXX

"Mr. Malfoy is 'ere to see you." The words filled her office, coming from the small charmed globe on her desk. She stared at it, stunned. What in the world was he doing here in the Ministry at her office.

"Does he have an appointment?" she asked back, forcing her voice not to shake.

"No," the reply came. Should she let him in? At this point, it would look odd if she didn't.

"Send him in." Hermione stood, moving towards the door as it opened and then closed behind Draco. He turned to wave his wand back at the door, no doubt locking it behind him. He was dressed for work. It had been so long since Hermione had seen him in his crisp robes, that she stopped to take in the sight before her. In the past month, she had become used to t-shirts and jeans, and, in the past two weeks, also seeing him in nothing at all. He typically changed before she got to his flat or changed before he came over to hers.

"What?" he asked, watching her curiously.

"You... I just …" she blushed, and Draco laughed. He closed the gap between them and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was full of passion and longing. He pushed his hands past her robes to grab her hips tightly and bring them closer to him. Hermione moaned softly into his mouth and he nibbled the soft skin of her bottom lip for a moment before he pulled away.

"Guess what?" He looked at her like Harry and Ron had looked at their Christmas presents when they had been just boys. It was entirely unlike him.

"What?" His giddy behaviour had her on edge, nervous and excited at the same time.

"It's official. I'm all yours." Draco kissed her again, sliding one hand out of her robes to get lost in her hair as she let her body fall against him. She tried to figure out what he was saying, but with his fingers at her waist and his lips on hers, it was hard to think about much of anything. Suddenly she realised what he meant, and she pushed him back.

"Your divorce!" she said loudly, and then bit her lip and looked over at the door.

"I silenced your office," he assured her. "I know I shouldn't have come, but I wanted to tell …"

Hermione let out a squealing noise that embarrassed her, threw her arms around his neck, and pulled Draco down to kiss her again, matching his excitement with her own. _Divorced. No longer married. All hers._ She hadn't realised until this moment in her office, with him holding her and nothing between them any longer, how much she had hated that he was still technically married to Pansy. She knew they were done. She knew Pansy was living with someone else, and Draco had no desire to be with her anymore, but it had been there in the background. She had been sleeping with a man still technically married to another woman, but now he was hers. Draco Malfoy was hers.

She clung to him tightly as he pushed her back against her desk, and his fingers dug harder into her. "I wish it was time to go home," she whispered as his lips found the sensitive skin beneath her ear, and his teeth grazed, followed by his lips.

"Leave early," he asked, but she knew that he wasn't serious. She would never leave work early to … well … for that.

"I can't, and tonight I have ..."

"Dinner at the Potter's." His head fell against her shoulder as he presumably remembered her plans.

"I can cancel," she said softly, and he groaned.

"No. Go to dinner. I know you want to see the boys."

He was right, of course. She could see Harry and Ginny another night, but she had promised James that she would read his bedtime story. Draco had been working in her bedroom out of sight when she had been talking to him through the Floo the night before. "Can I come over after?"

"You better." He ghosted his lips over hers.

XXX

Hermione closed the book of Beedle the Bard stories and kissed James softly on his forehead. Her nephew had requested The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, and Hermione had read it nearly four times before he had finally fallen asleep. It was one of his favourite stories, and she was glad. It had taken her nearly a year to track down a copy of the Bard's tales with the original version. She rolled out of his bed and set the book back in the pile on his nightstand. She moved towards the door and then turned to look at him one last time. She watched him sleeping for several long minutes as she stood there. He was so like Harry already that it took her breath away, but James had a carefree way about him that her best friend had never had. Hermione hoped that it never went away.

"He's asleep?"

Hermione turned away from the room to face Harry and smiled softly. "Yes, finally."

"He's been telling us all day he was going to make you read him Hopping Pot at least twenty-seven times."

"Twenty-seven?" she asked, chuckling softly.

"That's what he said. I just got Al down, too. Come on. Let's go interrupt the one moment of peace Gin has had all day." He led the way down the hall and then down the steps as Hermione followed. They found Ginny in the living room laying on the sofa.

"Are they asleep?" She sat up as they entered, moving to make room for Harry to take the spot next to her. Hermione crossed to the loveseat and put her feet up on the cushion.

"Yes." Harry leaned over to kiss her temple, and Ginny sighed into him as his arm wrapped around her back. Her head fell onto his shoulder and she seemed to relax into him. Hermione wished that Draco was here. She wished that Harry and Ginny knew that they were dating and that they were all able to get through a meal together. It felt like a fantasy, but she couldn't help but hope that one day it might be a reality.

She and Draco had taken to spending the night at each other's flats more often than not. Some nights they spent working next to each other, spread out in the living room or the kitchen table. Others they would read in bed, their shoulders touching or her legs over his. They had been taking turns cooking for each other, and Hermione had learned that he could put his well stocked kitchen to good use. Hermione had convinced him to watch a movie with her just once, and he had begrudgingly admitted that it was clever, but they had needed to pause it so many times to discuss what was happening that she wasn't in a hurry to do it again. Hermione knew that she was falling for him. She was falling hard and fast, and despite every bit of her self-preservation telling her to stop, go back, retreat, she carried on and kept falling for him. He was an entirely different person now than she ever could have imagined him becoming, and it was as if he was waking her from a long sleep. She had felt things in past two weeks that she had been sure she would never be capable of again.

The only thing she hated about the situation was that no one knew about it. She wanted to tell Harry and Ginny. Right now. She wanted to shout it at them and let her mouth blab all of her secrets until there was nothing left to tell. Draco was divorced and he was finally hers, but she couldn't do it. Draco had told her at the beginning of all of this how important his job was to him, and she couldn't imagine a way that they could come out to the world right now without creating a backlash. It wouldn't matter what they said or what the truth was. People would assume they had lied and the Prophet had been right all along. She didn't want that to happen. She didn't want to be the reason he was stressed at work or, worse, lost his job. She cared about Draco too much to take the risk that someone might let something slip too soon.

But, that wasn't all of it. She wanted to tell Harry and Ginny. She was sure that they wouldn't react great in the beginning, but they would trust her in the end. It was the not great bit before the acceptance that she wasn't looking forward to. Ginny had gone a little nutty in the protective department when Hermione had just spent one night with him. What would she think of them dating? And, Harry. Harry loved her. She knew that he did, but she hadn't forgotten the relieved look on his face when she had told him that she wasn't planning to see Draco again. He didn't want them together. They would come around, but it would be hard.

So, she was sitting here dreaming about a scene that may never occur. Ron had always belonged in this part of her life. He had fit perfectly here on this loveseat, his arms around her as they chatted with his sister and their best friend. She didn't want Ron to be here, but she did want Draco to fit into this picture. She wanted to have him know her godsons and read Hopping Pot and hold her while she laughed at Harry's terrible jokes.

"Thank, Merlin," Ginny sighed. "I'm exhausted."

"I don't know why," Hermione teased.

"Oh, and how many times did you read Hopping Pot tonight?" Ginny glared over at her. "He nod off during the first go round? Perfectly calm about it?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "Four times and we had to stop to hop the first two."

"You got off easy," Harry insisted.

"I would gladly read it to him twenty-seven times if that is what it took." They all chuckled at that.

"Speaking of exhausting things …" Ginny began, eyeing her as if she was going to say something Hermione very much didn't want to hear. "I was hoping you would want to go shopping with me next weekend for the Anniversary."

Hermione let her head fall back against the back of the sofa and groaned for a moment before looking back at Ginny. "Can't I just mail order something?" she asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Look, I never get to dress up and be fancy anymore. I need this. You are my best friend. You have to come."

"Ugh. Okay, but I am NOT going to be shopping around all day!" Hermione pointed her finger at Ginny as a wide smile spread across her friend's face.

"Okay, Okay. We will be quick about it! I'm so excited!"

"I'm with you," Harry told Hermione, shaking his head. "I don't even want to go to this thing."

"It's basically for you!" Ginny retorted.

"All the more reason not to go." Harry laughed as Ginny swatted him gently.

"I just … some days I can't believe it's really been ten years." She could still remember the way the terror felt. The way the blood and sweat had smelled. The way her heart had clenched when she thought Harry was dead.

"Most days I can't believe it," Harry agreed.

"At least we will all be there together," Hermione told him.

"Lavender will be there," Ginny said softly.

"Oh, yeah," Hermione frowned for a moment. "I suppose that makes sense."

"I think … they are going to have to tell people soon," Ginny continued.

"Yeah, well, they can only hide it for so long." Hermione stared at the floor for a few moments. "He seemed happy when I talked to him," she told them.

"I think he is," Harry agreed.

"Good. I want him to be happy." And she did. Lavender wasn't who she would have picked, but she was someone that Hermione had developed respect for. She was someone that she could see making Ron happy.

"He wants you to be happy, too."

"I know he does. I am, really," she assured them as they watched her with careful, evaluating eyes.

"Has Malfoy been bothering you at all? I … uh …" Harry fumbled, brushing a hand through his already messy hair. "I saw him a few times lately. We are reworking the budget for the department."

"No. He isn't bothering me," Hermione told him truthfully, with a twinge of guilt.

"Good."

 **A/N: Sooooooo …. We need to have a chat about some things. Those things are how amazing you all are. Over 200 reviews .. Nearly 500 followers … I'm speechless … gobsmacked and loving the crap out of every one of you. It's like you all know when I'm needing you and my phone gives me a ding, or really a "Hodor" because that is my email alert ((( WHAT IS LIFE WITHOUT GOT ON SUNDAYS?))), and then your super kind and beautiful words are there letting me know that you are reading and enjoying this and it's the best feeling in the world.**

 **Secondly … Two members of my beta team are working on a Dramione of their own. It is fantastic so far. If you wanted to give it a read their username for writing together is** **PhoenixTwins** **and their story is Out of the Flames.**

 **Thirdly … There is no thirdly. You are still just amazing.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	15. Chapter 15

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: Thank you so very much to ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy for continuing to love on this story. **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Fifteen:**

Hermione was standing outside the changing room. She had picked out her dress for the Anniversary Gala already. It had been the second one she tried on and one of Ginny's picks. Her friend had tried to encourage her to try more on, but she had liked it well enough. Hermione hated trying on a hundred things only to get the second or third, so she decided to buy it and avoid the whole, terrible process.

It was now Ginny's turn. They had each grabbed a few options for her and headed back to the changing rooms where Hermione now stood back in her own comfortable blouse and skirt, waiting for her turn to play the supportive friend role. "Okay," she heard, and the door opened. Hermione took in the sight before her, biting her lip, thinking hard. "What do you think?" Ginny looked nervous, and Hermione was confused.

"What do you think?" she asked, unsure of what to say.

Ginny sighed, smoothing her hands down the side of the dress. She seemed entirely unhappy. It was a pretty, soft blue, and it clung to her breasts nicely enough, but the gown cascaded shapelessly down from there to her feet. "I don't know."

"It's not really you," Hermione told her as she attempted to be as gentle as possible. It was one of the gowns Ginny had picked out for herself. "Why don't you try something else?"

"Okay, yeah, I will." Gin stepped back and shut the door. "Have you decided if you are going to bring a date?" she asked. Hermione heard the rustle of her dress being removed.

"I don't think so. I'm content by myself." This wasn't necessarily true, but she and Draco weren't ready for the media to put their claws in their relationship, so it was the only choice she had.

"I could probably find someone for you. Let me. It will be fun," Ginny asked.

"No, really Gin. I'm fine." She heard a new dress being pulled down.

"Maybe one of the guys from the Auror department. Harry works with really good people. It doesn't have to be anything serious."

"I just want to go alone." She hadn't asked him, but she was sure that Draco would not approve of her taking a date to the event. The thought of another woman on his arm made her insides clench.

A few moments later, the door opened, and Ginny stood there. "This one is better," she said, but she wasn't smiling. Hermione stared, and then laughed. This dress was floor length as well. The black fabric gathered under her breasts and pleated down her her front. It was about as un-Ginny as it was possible to be. Ginny loved short dresses that clung to her Quidditch curves. She spent hours trying on clothes each and every time she dragged Hermione to a store. She would laugh and twirl and poke fun at the more ridiculous options, but she didn't frown down at her body as if it was betraying her. Even after two boys, she loved her body and was very comfortable in her own skin, and Hermione knew it. Ginny loved to drive Harry crazy at these things, usually. She would find something borderline inappropriate, certainly enough to make Molly purse her lips, and spend the entire evening enjoying the affect she had on her husband. "Don't laugh!" Ginny demanded, mortified.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, trying to stop, but failing.

Ginny moved back, falling to a seat on the chair inside the room. It was clear she was upset. "I shouldn't have asked you to come. Luna could have, or Hannah."

Hermione followed her inside the room, shutting the door behind her before she cast a silencing charm. "Gin, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just … I'll come back another day."

Hermione frowned and moved to her knees beside her friend. She reached a hand out to grab Ginny's. "Tell me."

Ginny wiped at the tear falling down her cheek with her free hand, and shook her head. "I don't want them to be able to tell."

"Who?"

"Those vultures at the Prophet or Witch Weekly," Ginny said, her voice full of disdain.

"Tell what?" Hermione asked, her eyes running over the dress and then to the soft blue one discarded on the floor. Her mind was racing, and she was sure that she already knew.

"I'm … we're …" Ginny was crying harder now, and Hermione leaned closer to her, placing her other hand over her friends as well. "I'm pregnant."

Emotion rushed through Hermione faster than she could properly feel it; loss, sorrow, misery, regret, anger, jealousy, and shame, a deep penetrating shame. "Gin," she was nearly choking on her words, but it was okay. She could get them out. "That is amazing." And it was. It was incredible. She loved Harry and Ginny's boys fiercely. She would love this baby, but part of her was crying out. _Why? Why do they get three, and I couldn't have one?_ The thought made her sick, but it permeated her being, soaking her insides with a bitter glaze.

"Don't," Ginny told her. "You don't have to. I didn't … I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how." Ginny slid off the chair and crumpled on to the floor next to her friend, holding her hands tightly as she moved. "I miss her, too." Ginny sobbed. Her words brought sharp, stinging tears to Hermione's eyes, and before she could stop them they toppled over, sliding down her face in ugly streaks. "I think about her all the time. I just … I know she was yours and Ron's, but I miss her. It hurts so bad."

Hermione wrapped her arms around her friend, her sister, as she did the same. They held each other as they cried without holding back, without caring what anyone thought. It had been so very long since anyone had been so open with Hermione about Rose that her mind and body seemed unable to react in any way except to attempt to relieve the stress and tension through the deep sobs and streams of tears. She and Ginny clung to each other as they felt the absence that Rose left in their lives and shared in the pain they each felt. They cried until they were two mothers sitting crumpled together with nothing left.

XXX

Draco's calculations for the Magical Law Enforcement Budget were spread out across the table as the smell of his baking lemon chicken began to spread through his flat. He was rifling through the stack nearest him with one hand as the other sat firmly in his hair, elbow resting on wood. This whole thing was a mess. He understood the reasoning for what Potter was doing, but the budget the Minister wanted to be able to give him was ridiculous. Draco was trying to find some way to make it work for them, but it was seeming to just get more and more impossible and the idiot financial advisors at the Ministry were more of a burden than a help.

He sighed in relief when he heard Hermione's knock at the door. He needed a break. He had been at this since she had left this morning to go to her parents and then shopping for a dress for the Anniversary Gala. The figures were starting to blur together on the parchment. He pushed back his seat and headed towards the front of the flat. He was hoping that she would be open to a work-free night because he couldn't handle much more of this today.

When he opened the door, Hermione moved inside quickly, dropping her bag on the floor as she kicked the door shut with her foot. He saw the intense, focused look on her face for a single moment before she was roughly kissing him. Her hands found his shirt within moments and pulled the fabric up from his trousers. They separated just long enough for the shirt to slide over his head, and then she was kissing him again. Draco had no idea what had brought this on, but he certainly wasn't going to complain. She was pushing hard against his lips with hers, and he moved his mouth, parting to nip her bottom lip with his teeth.

She moaned and slid her tongue against his, tasting him as her hands felt his exposed chest and grazed a path on his skin with her fingertips down to his buckle. Draco pushed her fumbling, anxious fingers back and undid it with one hand, followed by his button. Hermione pulled back again to pull her own shirt over her head. He didn't let her unclasp her bra. She had set the fast and furious pace, and it didn't have time for wasting on a stubborn clasp. He pushed her back against the wall next to the door, and her foot grazed up his calf. Draco cupped her thighs with his hands, moving her up the wall. One hand pulled him free from his pants and wrapped around him for the few strokes it took to get him completely hard.

Draco reached under her skirt, pulling at the fabric of her knickers, moving it aside as she positioned him. He thrust forward as soon as she moved her hand, burying himself inside of her. "Yes," she moaned, the first word either of them had spoken since she walked through the door. Draco leaned down to suck at her neck as Hermione's arms wrapped around his own neck to dig nails into his back. Her head was against the wall and her moans continued as he pumped into her, his hips rocking against her in a steady, frantic rhythm. He lost track of everything but the heat between her legs and the feel of her skin against his. She made him feel more alive than he had all day. This was something intense and emotional. It reminded him of that first night, the night they had both been pissed off firewhisky, and trying to forget.

Draco pulled his head back at the thought, trying to catch her eyes, trying to determine where the similarity was coming from, but she had her lids clenched tightly shut as she clung to him. "Hermione?" he asked.

She opened her eyes, looking down to meet his and then her forehead fell against his. "Don't stop," she told him, and there was definitely something off about her voice as she breathed the words against his lips. Whatever was wrong, she wanted this moment of distraction, and he wanted to give it to her, to let her get lost in him.

Draco quickened his pace, his hips rocking hard against her. She clenched her legs tighter, her moans starting up again. "Fuck," he hissed as her nails dug further into the skin of his back, and she began to whimper in anticipation. He pulled one hand free from her thigh, relying on the wall to help support her, and slid it between them. His hand splayed on her abdomen as his thumb moved under her knickers to roll circles over her clit. "Draco," she breathed. "Yes. Oh …"

His head fell to the wall beside her, his body ached from the exertion, but she was so bloody perfect. Her sounds, her skin, her tight heat was everything. He didn't care that his legs were going to hate him or that he was likely being used to forget something. She surrounded him, taking over every ounce of control he had as he buried himself inside of her. Listening to her whisper his name as she teetered on release was a high he couldn't come down from.

Suddenly everything was tighter, her arms on his neck, her nails in his skin, her legs around him, and her grip on his cock. She said his name again, louder than before, moaning it loud and long as she rode the waves of her orgasm, and he bucked his body against hers, feeling his own blissful release crashing down on him. He pumped into her until it passed, and then he held her against the wall, kissing her shoulders and neck softly. When she finally moved her legs down from around him, she began to shake, and he knew she was crying. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, trying to give her some comfort.

"What is it?" he asked, his face buried in her hair.

"Ginny's pregnant," she choked out, and he held her tighter, trying to pull the pain she was feeling out of her soul.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. He had no idea what she was feeling or what this meant to her, but he was sure that whatever it was, she was being pulled in a million directions by her emotions. She had tried to forget, tried to let her body help her forget, but now she was trembling in his arms as tears fell on his chest.

"I'm happy for her, for the, but I … it hurts. I'm a horrible friend," she sobbed out, nearly choking on her tears and the words.

"No. No you aren't," he assured her. He wished he had the right words, anything to make her feel better, but he didn't. Her legs seemed to be giving out as they stood there locked together, so Draco let them move down to the floor. He cradled her in his lap, his arms around her still, and let her cry. She sobbed, her body shaking hard and uncontrollably. They were a mess of sweat and tears and crumpled clothing, and all he could think about was how incredibly happy he was that she was here. He felt like utter shit for the thought as soon as it crossed his mind, but of all the places in the world she could have gone to find comfort, Hermione wanted to be here in his arms and that meant something.

A/N: I love this chapter. I'm sorry if it made you sad or hurt your heart, but it is one of my favorites. Thank you for reading and reviewing and taking this journey with me ! I am overwhelmed with your truly kind words.

Did you all check out Out of the Flames written by 2 of my betas? Because it is awesome and beautiful and heartbreaking! The update this morning had me hurting in the best way possible.

Happy Thursday to you all !

XOXO

Meg


	16. Chapter 16

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are there some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy for finding my errors, for helping me when I'm stuck, for telling me when I need more. Thank you!**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Sixteen:**

Hermione was avoiding him. She had been, all week, since she had melted down after discovering that Ginny was pregnant. He was sure that she was embarrassed, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the way she had lost herself in him, or that she had been honest about the cause and then broken down after. He'd never seen her like that before. Even when they had talked about her past, she had never been so openly shattered in front of him. It had been his first glimpse at what Ginny had been trying to tell him when she had shown up at his door demanding he stay away from Hermione. His witch had been so utterly raw in his arms, and there was nothing for him to do in that moment but hold her.

She had stayed the night with him, letting him be strong and warm beside her as she slept fitfully. Her constant movement caused him to remain awake just in case she needed him. In the morning, she had left early, kissing his forehead and telling him she had to get some work done. By the time he was fully awake and realized it was Sunday, she was gone; he hadn't seen her since. It had been a full week, and she was hiding away from him in her office. It seemed that she was gone before he woke up in the morning and came home after he had gone to bed.

He owled her several times, and each letter had been answered, but they weren't real answers: She was working on a big project. She would let him know when they could get together. It was going to be a rough couple of weeks.

It was shit. All of it. They were bloody adults, not school children, and she was bloody avoiding him while he had to see Potter twice that week and pretend like nothing was amiss. It didn't matter that he wanted to grab the man by his collar and demand to know if he had seen Hermione this week. That move would be just as crazy as her avoiding him, so he abstained.

Instead, he buried himself in the Ministry budgets. He had lived and breathed numbers for the past week, and things were finally shaping up nicely. He had made some cuts, well a lot of small cuts actually, but he thought that, in the end, they would all work out alright. Now, he just had to run the new plan by the Minister and his financial advisors the following Tuesday and see what those idiots thought.

It would seem that Hermione was not quite as easy a solution as budgets. He had given her space. He had given her time, but now it had been an entire week since he had seen her. He didn't want to admit to anyone, least of all himself, how much it was affecting him. She had become part of his life so quickly. He had become accustomed to having her near, even when they were both working, and now she had removed herself from his life as if she was never a part of it. If it hadn't been for her short letters sent back, he may have believed that he had imagined the entire affair.

He bloody missed her. He missed her crazy hair in his fingers, her wet skin in his shower, her laugh over dinner, and her body next to his in bed as they both read. His nights felt empty without her, and that was terrifying. This was supposed to be one night, just a drunken shag, and now he was fucking lost in her and bloody done with waiting for her to be ready to see him again.

Draco reached out and knocked on her door. He didn't care that it was ridiculously late, and she was probably asleep or working, or … well, that was all she really seemed to do at home when he wasn't there. He waited for a few minutes and nothing happened, so he pounded on the door again, louder.

"What are you doing?" she snapped as the door swung open. Hermione had her robe on, but it wasn't tied, and he could see the outline of her breasts beneath the thin white fabric of her sleep shirt.

"You're avoiding me," he retorted. His voice was just as snappy as hers. He didn't care if she knew that he was angry. Good. She should know. She was being ridiculous.

"I'm not avoiding you. I'm working."

"Really? You go from spending every night in bed with me to not even able to have a coffee, and you aren't avoiding me?" He had lowered his voice, but none of the tone had gone.

"Well, I have been rather busy." Her eyes dropped past him to the hallway, and he didn't respond. Rather busy my arse. "Come in." She stepped back, let him move past her, and shut the door behind her gently. Her arms crossed and pushed her breasts together and up, and he knew he was staring. "Draco," she chided, and he corrected his eyes, pulling them up to hers.

"What is wrong?" he asked. He wanted to pull her into him, to kiss her and make everything go back to the way it had been, but he knew that wouldn't help this situation.

"I…" She brushed her hand over her face as she let loose a sigh. "I've never been like that with anyone else. No one has seen that … the way I really feel … about Rose, except Ron, Harry, and Ginny."

He did take a step forward then, his hands gripping her elbows loosely. "I want to know that part of you. I …" The truth was, he fucking hated that Ron knew her that way. That he had loved her and given her a baby and then experienced this loss with her. He didn't envy their pain. He wasn't stupid enough to wish himself into Ron's shoes, but it hurt to know that there was a man out there that knew her in a way that he hadn't been able to understand, that he may never fully understand. It was just an added stab in the side that the man in question was Ronald Weasley. "She was right," he told her.

"Who?" Hermione's brows furrowed.

"Ginny. She said I didn't understand, and I don't, but I want to." He moved closer, sliding his hands up her arms. "I won't let you run away," he promised, and he kissed her. It was the first time he had felt her in a week, and he relished in the way she leaned into him, her fingers moving to clench the fabric of his shirt as his own found her hair. He kissed her hard, focusing all of his tension and annoyance with her into this moment.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled against his lips, and he forgave her - as if there had been any chance that he wouldn't. She slid her arms around him and pulled him closer as her head turned to rest on his chest. He followed her lead and wrapped his arms around her back to hug her to him. They stood there, holding each other as he tried to pretend he wasn't becoming utterly dependent on her.

XXX

"I really am working," Hermione told him as she finally pulled back.

"I'm sure you are," he followed her. When they reached the kitchen, she moved over to the table to move parchment into a neat stack.

"What is this?" Draco asked.

"A new law, at least, I hope it will be" she sighed heavily. She really had been having an awful time at work this week. Her presentation to the Wizengamot was in six days. Felix and Kingsley were both trying to help, but honestly, they were just making it worse. She had never been so anxious about a presentation in her entire career, and she was Hermione Granger. Anxiety about assignments was part of who she was. It balanced nicely with her perfectionism and obsessive nature.

"What kind of law?" he asked again, sliding into the space next to her at the table. He didn't lift any of the pages, but he did put one long finger to a single page. She turned her head to face him and watched his gray eyes grow large as his mouth fell open. "Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," he told her, his voice low and controlled.

"What do you mean?" It was her turn to be confused. She honestly didn't understand what could bother him about her work. Was it possible that he was truly still just as prejudiced as he had been when they were children? Surely not. That boy would never have been standing in her kitchen, let alone making her feel … the things he made her feel. She pushed the words that came to mind down, ignoring them even as her thoughts ran over the way he had held her last Saturday night. She had come completely apart, bare and raw and exposed, and he had held her anyway. She was lost in misery and despair, mourning for a child whose life would have meant never being with him, and yet he had comforted her and made her feel safe, made her feel like maybe she wasn't going to completely lose herself again.

"Fuck," he hissed, and then he did lift the pages. His eyes scanned, reading the words she had deliberated over for the better part of her career, words that had been dissected and nitpicked over and over and over again as she struggled to remove herself from them. "Too personal," they said, every time. "I can still feel your very soul in this, Hermione," Kingsley had told her just that day. It was her very soul. The whole damn thing was her soul seeking some sort of retribution, or penitence. How could it not be? She couldn't even try to pretend that this wasn't personal. This was extremely personal for her. Dobby practically lived in the pages of this proposal, and she knew it. "When is this going up for review?" He looked at her frantically, his eyes still wide.

"My presentation to the Wizengamot is next Friday."

Draco reached down to grab the back of the chair next to his and his other hand rubbed at his eyes. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"Why are you so upset?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. His reaction wasn't anything like she had expected. She had thought he might think her silly, might chide her for wasting her time on something as frivolous as paying Magical Creatures for the services they performed for witches and wizards. She had never imagined him angry, and certainly not whatever this was.

"Does the Minister know about this?" he snapped.

"Yes," she replied, still unsure what to think.

"Are you expecting this to pass? Does the bloody Minister expect this to pass?" Draco was seething. She could see his body tensing before her and felt her own stomach starting to twist in anger. She had spent every spare moment of her life on this for the past week, countless hours before that, and he had the audacity to ask if she was expecting it to pass?

"Of course I expect it to pass! Kraus and the Minister have been helping me write it for nearly a year. I've been lobbying for this my entire career. It better pass!"

"Why the fuck hasn't he told me about this?" Draco pounded his fist onto the table and spun away from her, his hand worrying his hair.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked, venom in her voice. Who did he think he was that her projects needed to be run by him?

"What is wrong with me?" Draco laughed as he turned back around to face her. "This fucking law takes everything I just spent the past three weeks trying to figure out and tears it to shit. Do you know how many magical creatures the ministry has at their disposal? Where in the hell is that money coming from? How could he not fucking mention this? I have seen him at least twice a week. I saw him fucking three days ago! Does he not realize that the very people that will be most affected by this are the very people he relies on for donations to keep his departments running? Especially the things that the general public may not consider necessary? Those people also just so happen to be some of Gringotts' largest personal customers, but I guess that doesn't matter either. I should have been working on getting them on board six months ago. I can't believe he had me completely fucking reworking the damn Ministry budget, and he didn't think to mention this to me one single time."

Hermione stared at him. She took in the sight of the man who had, until now, been her calm, supportive, rock. He was disheveled, his pupils were dilated, and he was clearly trying, and failing, to keep his shit together. Hermione laughed at the sight.

At first, he kept on with his tirade, but her laughter grew louder. She grabbed her stomach with her arms as her laughter bent her forward. Draco stopped ranting, and stared back at her, his brows furrowed in frustration. "Why are you laughing?" She tried to stop, but as she took in his face another wave hit, and she covered her mouth to try and end the giggles flowing from her lips. "Stop that," he said, and he crossed his arms. Hermione snorted at him and then laughed at the noise her snort made, and he just stared, face deadpan, while she tried to control herself.

Finally, after several long minutes of looking away from him, Hermione was able to pull herself together and wipe the tears of laughter from her eyes. She turned back to him and saw that he was still looking sourly back at her. "Oh, Draco," she told him, "for a while there, I forgot how ridiculous you look when you're angry."

"What?"

"No one is trying to keep you out of this, I'm sure. Kingsley may be just trying to placate me. Maybe he doesn't think it will pass. Maybe he has a plan already for where the money will come from."

"This is my job, Hermione."

"And mine, Draco.

"He can't just …"

"He isn't here, and I'm sorry. I didn't realize that this would affect you. I would have told you sooner."

"Why didn't you? You could have told me anytime."

"I thought …" Hermione felt her stomach flip. "I thought you might think it was silly, or worse."

Draco frowned again, and she was sure that she had hurt him. "I'm not a monster," he said.

"I don't think you are a monster," she insisted, quick to deny his claim.

"You thought I might be against this." His voice was hard, and she hated it. She had hurt him, that much was clear.

"I didn't know."

"You haven't asked. I have no house-elves. I cook for myself. All of the magical creatures I work with are right dicks and make more money than I do."

"I know," she insisted.

"Clearly you don't if you didn't want to tell me."

"You're right. I should've shared this with you. It's important to me," she closed the gap between them. She rested her hand on his chest, and he watched her but made no move to touch her. "And so are you," she finished, leaning up to kiss him softly. She slid one hand down his arm to thread her fingers with his, and he gripped her hand.

"I'm not that boy anymore. I thought you knew that." His tone and words both cut through her like ice.

"I do, I just … I guess some prejudices die faster than others. I … well, Harry and I both loved Dobby and what he did for us … I can't ever repay him, but I can do this."

"Let me read it. I know that court better than you. I was raised to be one of them."

"Are you sure?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes, I'm sure. Let me look at it." As he kissed her temple, Hermione leaned into him, and an arm finally wrapped around her to pull her closer.

 **A/N: The last chapter was clearly emotional and the reviews were beautiful. Thank you so much. I am sorry for making you cry and ripping your hearts out. I promise they won't all be so heavy.**

 **Extra thanks and love to those who reached out about their personal pain to do with pregnancy loss. I feel you. I have been there. I am sending** you **love and I hope that this story respects that pain without making it worse. I hope that Hermione continues to feel genuine in her healing.**

 **I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! Please leave your thoughts.**

 **XOXO**

 **Megan**


	17. Chapter 17

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the miscarriage of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: Many thanks to Oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy for beta working this chapter. Commas are surely the devil. XOXO **

**Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Trigger Warning: Late term pregnancy loss**

 **Chapter Seventeen:**

Draco skipped Quidditch again the next day to stay with Hermione. She read through her proposal, pretending that he was the Wizengamot. This was a little difficult for her to imagine as he sat shirtless on her sofa, a smirk on his lips. She kept getting distracted and stumbling to find her place, which just made the smirk deepen. When she finally finished, he delicately declared the entire thing to be wrong, and she had crossed her arms and prepared for a fight.

"We can fix it," he followed up quickly as he took in the stubborn lines around her mouth.

"Fix it? All I've been doing is fixing it!" she had shrieked, aware that he was trying to help, and she was being defensive.

He had backpedaled quickly after that one. "I just meant you have to do some rearranging. Shove the emotion to the end. Get them agreeing with their brains, and then make them hurt."

They had settled themselves at her table to work. He combed over each sentence and made suggestions as they worked through page after page. They managed to muddle their way to the end of the speech by ten that evening. They were both bleary eyed, exhausted, and sore from pouring over her presentation as Hermione curled up in his arms that night. He kissed her softly on the forehead, and they were both asleep within minutes.

When Hermione took the presentation to Kraus' office the next morning, he had read through it with eyebrows raised and mouth slightly agape. "This is perfect," he told her, and she sighed, content.

Draco, however, did not have as pleasant a meeting with the Minister that afternoon. He had made excuses that he and Hermione were chatting when they both were grabbing their mail, and the witch had let slip the news about her presentation. He then proceeded to shout rather animatedly while his arms flew in accusation. The Minister shouted back, declaring that Draco was overreacting, that he had no right to come into his office and tell him how to run the bloody Ministry. Draco had thrown the budget he had spent all of his time on up into the air and stalked out of the room amid the raining parchment before he slammed the door behind him. It could have gone better, but Draco wasn't too worried. Shacklebolt's financial advisors really were a bunch of ponces, and the man would realize he was right when he calmed down.

The next four days, Hermione spent every moment practicing her presentation, giving her speech over and over to anyone that would listen. By Friday, Draco was sure that he could give the thing himself. He and the Minister had made up and started accommodating for the changes her law would mean to the budgets. Draco had again made excuses so that he could attend the presentation and watch Hermione. He claimed he wanted to know if he would, indeed, need to continue to rework numbers over the weekend if the law passed. Harry, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Hannah, and even Ron showed up to watch as well.

Draco held a hand on his chin, nervously rubbing as he waited. He tried to look interested, but not too much so. It was the first time he had been in the same room as Hermione and any of her friends since Ron had punched him. The red headed man had eyed him appraisingly, and Draco had been sure that he was looking for whatever it was that had made Hermione want to keep seeing him. He seemed to realize that he shouldn't stare so curiously in front of Harry and Ginny and pulled his eyes away. Harry greeted him with a handshake and apologized again for not telling him about Hermione's work. He hadn't realized what it would mean for their own task. Potter had proven over and over just how oblivious he was to budgets, so Draco actually believed him. Ginny just stared at him, and he had found her unreadable expression disconcerting.

He took his place and waited as the Wizengamot filed in one, two, three at a time, taking their seats. Hermione walked into the room last, and he knew she had been standing in the hall going through everything one last time. She resolutely avoided looking at him, and he was sure that this had everything to do with her friends and ex-husband sitting in front of him. That was alright. He had wished her good luck this morning in the shower before she had gotten ready. He had known she didn't need it.

Once she was settled at the podium, Kingsley had begun to speak as his undersecretary frantically took notes of the proceeding. When the Minister mentioned "Dobby's Law," he saw Potter's wife reach for the wizard's hand and squeeze it tightly.

Hermione spoke firmly, her voice strong and authoritative as she delivered her proposal: pay for all magical creatures, no matter their position, who served the magical community. She pulled them in with her facts and figures, with her clear and unemotional delivery of the reasoning behind her argument that all magical creatures should have the right to control their own job positions and be compensated for said work. She delivered the bold truth about what this would mean for the Wizarding world financially and for the creatures themselves. When they were almost there, when Draco could already see the win, she shifted directions, just as they had planned. She looked to Harry as she spoke about Dobby, about the courage and the service he had paid to their world. She called into question what their world had done for Dobby. She demanded that just one person tell her what their community offered an elf like this one that was brave enough to stand up for their freedom, and Draco watched as shame littered the faces across from her. He knew their shame only too keenly.

"There is nothing we can do for Dobby now. He is gone, but we now have the chance to change our path. We now have the opportunity to form a bridge between ourselves and the rest of the Magical community, to make ourselves allies instead of masters. We must only have the courage to take the first step and admit that we have made mistakes in the past, but we will not let them define our future." She stood impressively still, watching the group before her when she was done. Her heart was surely racing, he knew just how worried she was, but he couldn't see any of her nerves in her in that moment.

The vote was quick. She had convinced nearly all of them. Kingsley declared that a committee would be created to work on the particulars of this law with Ms. Granger, and then it was over. She thanked the court, still composed, and left the room as everyone else began to move and gather possessions.

"She did it," Draco heard Ron say as he shook his head. "She really did it."

"Damn right she did," Harry clapped his friend on the back. "Let's go find her."

"I should go home." Ron's eyes flickered towards Draco so fast that he couldn't be sure he had seen the movement at all. "Just tell her I'm so happy for her. This is really great."

"Are you sure? We're going to take her out to celebrate," Harry added, and Draco's stomach dropped. Of course, Potter wanted to take her out to celebrate. Of course, he could do nothing about it but sit and wait for her to come home. Again.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Lav will be home from the shop soon."

"Okay, Okay." Harry grudgingly let him out of his plans.

Draco was at the door now, leaving the room with his excitement now shrouded in disappointment. He had intended to take her out. He had made reservations, in fact, to surprise her, and he hadn't once thought about the fact that her friends had probably done the same thing. They had no idea she was still seeing him, no idea that he had put more hours into this presentation and helping her practice than his own work for the week.

Draco saw her standing in the room beyond, a grin stretching softly across her face as Kraus shook her hand and talked animatedly to her. He kept walking, moving towards the exit as quickly as possible.

XXX

"Hermione!" Neville chanted, pushing his glass into the space above the table. Their friends all joined in, clinking glass together in an uncoordinated cluster as their laughter rolled out from their table again.

"Hermione!" The other voices chanted before they threw their drinks back.

Hermione struggled to stop laughing long enough to drink from hers. Harry, Ginny, George, Angelina, Luna, Rolf, Hannah, and Neville were all piled around the table covered with empty plates and more empty pints, and water glasses.

"Bloody brilliant!" Harry declared for the hundredth time. "They didn't know what to do except follow your lead. They would have given you Kingsley's job if you asked for it." He smacked the table to emphasize his point, and Hermione snorted.

"Oh, Merlin, Harry. Don't say that," she groaned.

"They are already grooming you, Kingsley and Kraus!" Ginny declared, agreeing with her husband.

"They would groom Harry long before me," she insisted. The idea was laughable. No one had ever mentioned it to her in the nearly nine years she had been working for the Ministry, well except her friends, and they hardly counted.

"Kings knows I've no desire for that particular job," Harry told her as he shook his head and grinned. "You ought to start thinking about it."

"I'm happy where I am. I love my job."

"Well, so do I," Neville chimed in, "but you bet your bloody arse when Minerva told me she has her eye on me for Deputy Head, I was more than okay with it."

"And, I left the Leaky to finish my training. I loved that job," Hannah agreed with her husband.

"And I quit the Harpies," Ginny added. "Sometimes, you have to let go of something good to get something great."

"There isn't anything to get!" Hermione laughed. "I just got a law passed, I haven't been offered any jobs."

"You will be," Luna told her, earnestly. "Not the whole Ministry, not at first, but you changed the world today."

"Too true." Rolf grinned broadly and held his cup into the middle of the table. "Hermione!" he chanted happily. All of her friends thrust their glasses of ale and water into his glass with a loud clank before they shouted her name again while she shook her head at them all.

XXX

Hermione knocked on Draco's door and leaned against the frame. She had stayed out later than she had wanted and drank more than she should have. He had vanished after her victory, just when she had wanted to see him most. She knew he was there. It had killed her not to look over at him for encouragement and support while she gave her speech. No one else knew it better than him, but she couldn't because her friends were there, and she was sure that one look from her would have been enough to make them aware that she was crazy about him.

She knocked again, harder, and sighed. Her head was muddled. Hannah and Neville had brought her home through the Floo. Hannah had taken her into her room and made sure she got changed and into bed okay while Neville waited at the door. She had thanked Hannah, though she was sure she could have made it home on her own. When she heard the door shut and as soon as she was sure they were gone, she had climbed out of bed and left again so she could knock on Draco's door.

She knocked for a third time and called, "Draco, please let me in."

"What are you doing?" his voiced asked her, but it wasn't from inside the apartment. It was from behind her. She spun to look at him and had to reach for the door to steady herself as she wobbled.

"You're pissed," he sighed as he reached her and the door. He gripped her waist and pushed his wand against the door to unlock it. Hermione turned the doorknob, and he helped her inside, putting her down on the couch. "I'll be right back," he told her.

Hermione smiled softly and curled her legs up under her, letting her head fall against a pillow. She heard Draco moving around his flat, opening cupboards in the kitchen and then back in his bathroom and finally in front of her. He set two glasses down on the table.

"Sit up," he directed, and she slowly obeyed, her head trudging as if through mud. "Drink this first." He handed her the first cup which held a gold liquid.

"This is quite pretty," she told him.

"It tastes like flobberworm guts," he said, and she had to agree. She choked on it a bit, but managed to keep it down.

"This one is better," he said as he handed her the second cup full of a purple potion.

Hermione drank it, glad to agree with him again. "Much better."

"Let's get you to bed," he told her softly.

"I wanna be with you," she murmured as he scooped her into his arms.

"I'll come to bed, too," he assured her. She leaned her head against his chest, and let her eyes shut as he walked. He smelled like Draco, and she felt her body relax into him quite on its own.

"Where did you go?" she asked as he set her on the bed. He pulled the blankets down from under her and covered her back up.

"I went out with Blaise and Theo." Hermione watched him pull at the buttons of his shirt. He discarded it onto the floor, and pulled at his belt as he walked around the bed to his side. He pushed his trousers down and moved under the blankets beside her.

She willed her body to scoot closer to him, and it seemed to respond, although slowly. She was exhausted, and her head was now tingling. Her head rested on his chest, and his hand moved to her waist. "I wanted you, but you were gone," she whispered.

"Your friends were there," he reminded her.

"But, I just wanted you," she said, no longer able to keep her eyes open.

"Me too." There was something in his voice. She was sure of it, but she couldn't decipher what at the moment.

"Don't leave me next time, kay?" she asked, placing her hand possessively over him.

"Okay. I won't," he promised, and she lost the battle she was fighting with the alcohol and the potions and fell asleep.

 **A/N: The response and love for this story continues to awe and amaze me. Thank you for taking the time to read it. Thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts and appreciation and love after you have read it.**

 **A few notes. Some of you, a LOT of you, have been with my since the first couple of chapters of this. I am honored to have you still here. I love it when I recognize your screen name. I LOVE it, so thank you.**

 **Alisonmarie - I am crazy blown away and honored to be the recipient of your first review. Writers always want to know what you think. I am so incredibly happy to know that I have moved you with these words. Thank you so very much for sharing that.**

 **I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! It has become more and more difficult for me to wait until Thursday to post these updates … which is why this one is coming to you just after midnight. I love this story, and I love that it makes so many of you truly feel for these characters. Thank you !**

 **If you need a little extra Dramione in your life this week, I wrote a birthday OS for RooOJoy and posted it to my account yesterday. It is called Adventures in Babysitting. It is fluffy and light and not at all angsty.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	18. Chapter 18

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: A special thank you this chapter to oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy for reassuring me through the massive anxiety I had about this chapter. All my love. xoxoxo**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Eighteen:**

Draco was alone. He had spent dinner with Blaise and Theo, but now they were both dancing with their dates, something he did not have. His mother and father never came to these things anymore. Lucius had tried for Narcissa in the beginning, but it was too hard, and they had ceased attending. Draco had no illusions about the hundreds of questions his mother would have for him the next time he saw her.

He was trying to not stare at Hermione, but it was nearly impossible. She looked beautiful tonight wearing her deep blue gown, her hair pulled back from her face, and a broad, happy smile. She was sitting beside Longbottom at her table. They were deep in conversation, and Potter was dancing with Longbottom's wife. Ron and Lavender, who had both been across from Hermione all night, were also dancing. The swell of Lavender's belly was between them for the world to see. They had been the focus of most of the photographers present that evening, especially when they were seated at the same table as Ron's ex-wife.

Suddenly, without warning, Ginny Potter was beside Draco. He looked down and frowned at her. She simply smiled back up at him, wrapped her arm in his, and gently pulled him towards the dance floor. "What are you doing?" he asked as she stopped.

"We're dancing," she told him. "Or we aren't, and tomorrow we wake up to several articles describing, in detail, how Draco Malfoy snubbed Harry Potter's wife." She looked pointedly around the room at the flashing bulbs.

"Fine." He pulled her closer, putting one hand carefully above her waist and the other gripped her hand. He was all too aware of the press, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger. A ripple of chatter and then silence seemed to move through the room as people realized they were together.

"You don't have a date," she told him, seemingly oblivious to the attention they were drawing. It wasn't a question, and he didn't respond. "You're still sleeping together, aren't you?" she asked quietly, her smile still in place.

It took every ounce of restraint Draco had to keep moving, to resist gaping at her. The only thing that kept his face clear of surprise was the knowledge that a room full of witches and wizards were watching them. Cameras were popping in their direction every few seconds. "I don't know what you mean," he said, proud of the even tone he managed.

"Yes, you do," Ginny told him calmly. "You haven't stopped looking at her all night." Ginny was smiling, her head tilted slightly to the side as she took him in. "It's mostly sideways glances, but you seem to be orbiting around her this evening."

"She's a beautiful woman," Draco tried to placate her. They were both speaking low now, moving their lips as little as possible.

"There are plenty of beautiful women here tonight." Ginny looked around the room. "Many of whom I'm sure would go home with you with very little effort on your part."

Draco cleared his throat and resisted the urge to frown. "None like her," he said, his voice tense. The cameras seemed to have moved on for the most part, flashing at other couples dancing around them.

"I agree," Ginny replied. She was staring at him with a sparkle in her eyes. It made him incredibly nervous. He was sure he had already said too much, but it was too late. The words were already out, and he had basically admitted to being with her. For some reason, he needed her to know that Hermione was more than just a shag to him. She was … well, Hermione, impossible for him to describe, or resist.

"You are expanding again?" Draco asked after assuring himself that they were no longer being scrutinized, hoping that this question would convey to her that he and Hermione had a relationship that ran deeper than sex on his kitchen floor when they were drunk.

"Yes," she told him, clearly surprised at his words. "It was not planned," she added tensely.

"Congratulations," he told her. Her body relaxed against his hand at the single word. "And," he paused, not knowing if he should continue, but she had just trusted him, just confessed a secret, so perhaps it was his turn. "You were right. I had no idea what happened before, or how much it was still affecting her."

"It doesn't feel right being happy about it," Ginny admitted, and he saw the tremble of her lips. He squeezed her hand with his to try and offer this woman some comfort.

"She loves you," he assured her. "She wants you to be happy."

"I just want her to be happy."

"It seems that we may be mutually aligned after all, Mrs. Potter." He actually smiled then, something he rarely did unless he was around Hermione.

The song faded to an end, so Draco led Ginny off of the dance floor. At the edge, she stopped, turning toward the camera a few feet from them with a broad smile on her face. Draco's arm rested casually at her back as he looked into the flash. The photographer thanked them and quickly moved on. Ginny turned to him one last time. "I want her to tell me. Please let her."

"I don't know what you mean," he said again, and Ginny grinned at him approvingly.

"Have a good evening, Mr. Malfoy."

"Thank you for the dance, Mrs. Potter."

XXX

He left before she did. Hermione watched him clap Blaise on the back, leaning in to whisper something to the man which made him laugh, and then Draco was walking towards the exit, his long robes whipping around his feet. She had forced herself to look back towards the table. Her friends were all laughing, their smiles easy, light, and comfortable. The worst of it was over. She had milled around, seeing people she hadn't seen in years, certainly before Rose, before the divorce. Molly had pulled her into a tight embrace, chattering that they needed to have lunch soon with Ginny, that she wanted to know how work was going, and didn't Hermione just need to tell her everything about this new law she was finalizing. Arthur had followed, holding her briefly, whispering apologies into her ear for Molly's continued efforts to treat her like a daughter-in-law. Hermione didn't mind. She still loved them, but they weren't hers anymore, not in the same way. Lavender was part of their family now, and Hermione wouldn't want to get between them bonding with her.

Sitting with Ron and Lavender hadn't been nearly as bad as she had expected. The blonde woman had approached her slowly, a small, unsure smile on her face, and Hermione had closed the space between them, pulling her into a hug. She had felt the prominent bump between them, and felt her stomach tighten in pain and longing as she pulled back. Lavender had visibly relaxed, her smile confident as she began to congratulate Hermione on her victory the week before. Ron had stayed with Harry, watching them carefully from the corner of his eye.

Harry had given a speech. It was short and to the point. It was incredibly Harry, and she smiled up at him as he spoke and looked down at her and Ron. She had glanced over at Ron once, and he had turned to her as well. They smiled kindly, both surely remembering being young, scared, and stupid. Then they had turned back to Harry. The Minister had followed. He was much more long winded than Harry, but he spoke with such charisma that Hermione didn't mind. Watching Kingsley speak was never disappointing. Then they had read the list. The list was always the worst part at these things. She always squeezed her eyes shut, not watching as a single, twinkling, white light appeared behind the speaker at each name. She imagined their faces, each and every one, forcing herself to remember as she listened to Ginny sob as quietly as possible beside her. George had left, presumably to get some air, before it started.

That was followed by dinner and then dancing. Both had been nice enough. Their dinner conversation was pleasant, and there were enough of them that Hermione mostly avoided talking to Ron or Lavender, but she felt like something was missing. All night, she kept catching small moments between the couples, and each one made her wish that Draco was beside her. Harry and Ginny shared a knowing glance. George slid his hand up Angelina's thigh. Neville kissed Hannah just below her ear. Rolf encouraged Luna's adorable absurdity. They were all so happy, and, for once, so was she. She was really, really happy, and none of them knew it. Draco made her feel alive again. There was no other way to put it. He made her laugh, even if it was _at_ him sometimes instead of _with_ him. His desire made her feel sexy and confident. The way that he was patient and supportive of her was entirely unexpected, but it felt genuine and real. She had been her true broken self in front of him, and it hadn't scared him away. No, she was no longer jealous of their moments, she just wished that Draco was here, at this table, instead of across the room. She wanted to feel his hand on her leg, his lips on her skin, see him laughing with her friends. She just wanted to enjoy him without worrying about who knew, and who didn't.

She had danced with Harry, Neville, and George, and she had watched carefully as Draco danced with Ginny. She hadn't been able to tell what they were talking about. Ginny insisted she was just making sure that he was still behaving himself. Harry had rolled his eyes at this, and Hermione had forced herself not to look at her friend sharply.

Then, Draco had left, and she no longer wanted to be there. She had stayed. For another thirty minutes, she had made small talk, smiled, laughed, and danced once more with George, but then she was done. She stood slowly, grabbing her purse.

"Are you off?" Harry asked her. His robes were hanging off the back of his chair and his shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows.

"Yeah, I'm all danced out, I think."

"Want me to take you?" he asked.

She shook her head, and grinned. "No, I think I can find the Floo okay."

"I'm not so sure about that!" Neville interjected. "You walked straight into the wall at the pub the other night."

"I did not!" Hermione insisted, blushing.

"You did," Hannah agreed, trying to cover her laugh with her hand.

"Oh, you lot, I am fine."

"Well, if you are still trying to go through the wall when we get to the fireplaces, I'll help you get home," Harry promised. She leaned down, kissed his cheek, and playfully smacked his shoulder as she stood back up.

"Goodnight," she told the table.

"Goodnight," her friends echoed, and she left them behind, careful not to walk too quickly. As far as they knew, she was just going home to bed and had no reason to rush.

XXX

Draco opened the door while she was still knocking. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist and he kissed her hard. Her own hands moved up his back and into his hair. She had wanted to kiss him all night. Their feet shuffled back in tandem, and then Draco used her body to shut the door, pushing her back against it.

"I've wanted to do that all night," she breathed against his lips when they finally broke for air.

"You've been driving me crazy in this dress," he growled, his eyes filled with a dark passion that made her skin tingle. A flicker caught her eye, and she turned to see that candles were floating around them, lighting the room with a low glow. As her lips curved into a grin, he reached for his pocket and pulled out his wand. He moved his wrist as she bit her lip, waiting. A low melody filled the air around them, and he replaced his wand in his pocket. The hand on her back moved to her hip, and his other reached back to grab hers. Hermione adjusted her body, taking up a dancing stance once again. "I've been wanting to do _this_ all night," he told her as they began to move.

She let him lead her around the room, slowly spinning as her eyes locked on his. "What did Ginny want?" she asked.

"To make sure I was being a good boy," he replied with a grin.

Hermione shook her head and let out a long breath. "She's ridiculous. I'm sorry."

"She loves you."

"I know," Hermione agreed. "I put a Notice-Me-Not, and a glamour on her dress. I checked with a few Healers first. She's already showing."

"I couldn't tell," he told her.

"Good."

"When is she due?" he asked, and Hermione could tell he wasn't sure how safe this topic was.

"Halloween. Lavender in September," she told him.

"How was it? Sitting with them?"

"It was hard, though not as bad as I expected." She looked up at him. "I kept wishing you were there, beside me."

"Me too," he said quietly.

She dropped her hand from his to circle his waist, pulling him into her. Her head rested on his chest, and they continued to slowly spin. He leaned down to kiss her hair. His thumbs were working small circles into her back and the heat from his body comforted her. Being near to him after a night filled with moments she had wanted to share with him made her chest ache.

"Draco?" she asked, not lifting her head.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I'm going to tell my parents." He stopped moving and pulled his arms from her to take a step back. Hermione looked up at him and saw that his expression was disbelieving.

"About us?" he asked for clarification.

"Yes," she assured him.

"When?"

"Next weekend. I'll tell them at lunch."

"Okay." He ran a hand through his hair as he watched her, clearly thinking hard.

"Will you meet them?" she asked, uncertain if he would want to.

"Meet your parents?" His eyes grew wide.

"Yes. I mean, I know I told you how complicated things are, but they are still my -"

"Yes," he cut in, stopping her words.

"Are you sure? It might not be very fun. They are likely to remember you."

"Yes, I want to." Draco grabbed her hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "I'm ready."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She remembered watching him dance with Ginny. Jealousy had pooled in her stomach at the sight. It was ridiculous. Draco was hers, and Ginny happily married, but she had been jealous that she hadn't been able to go to him, to have him kiss her head in the ballroom. "I'll talk to Harry and Ginny, too. Soon."

"I … are you sure?"

"Draco .. I …" she stared up at him, her heart racing, mind reeling. She knew the words. She knew what her body was telling her, what her head was screaming, but it was too soon. It had only been two months. What would he think? She couldn't say it. "I want everyone to know," she said instead, hoping he understood what was behind those words. "I want you in my life. All of it."

Draco leaned down to pull her in again. His lips whispered over hers, his fingers caressed her skin, gently dancing over her dress. She lifted her hands to his chest to fumble with a button. It opened, and she moved down to the next button and the next. Each movement was slow and considered, and his tongue swirled circles against hers.

He leaned back to pull his shirt off and toss it gently to the floor. She spun to reveal her back to him. His hands began at her hips, caressing her sides as he moved his way to the laces of her dress. He pulled slowly at the ties until it fell loose down her back. His mouth found her neck as his fingers found her sleeve. His careful kisses trailed the path the fabric made down her shoulder. Moments later, he mirrored the action, sliding her other arm free from the gown. Hermione felt her body vibrate as his hands slid down her skin, pushing the dark blue fabric all the way down to a pool at her feet. He was kneeling behind her then as his fingers touched the clasp on her silver heel. Barely-there kisses landed on the back of each calf as he worked. She let out a soft, low moan as his fingers started at her ankle and moved up her calves, up her thighs, to loop his thumbs in her knickers. He kissed the silky fabric before biting the hem, pulling down with teeth and thumbs as she resisted the urge to push her body back against him. Once they were gone, Draco pulled himself back up, kissing her bum, her back, her shoulders, as he moved. He opened the clasp of her bra in one flick of his wrist, and it joined the collection at their feet.

"Go sit on the blanket," he directed, and Hermione couldn't think of a single reason not to obey his wishes.

She moved towards the blanket set back a few feet from his empty fireplace. Her heart was racing, and her body was screaming for his touch, demanding she return to him. She bit her lips and pushed her thighs together to attempt to relieve some of her desire as she waited for him. He walked the other direction around the room, stopping to grab something before coming up behind her. She kept her head forward, her eyes off of him.

His breath tickled her ear as he knelt behind her. "Do you trust me?" he whispered.

"Yes," she answered, immediately.

Smooth silk ran up her arm. She turned her eyes down to see his tie clutched in his hand, moving across her skin. "I want to blindfold you." It wasn't a request, but she knew he would stop if she asked him to. She said nothing, just watched as the world beyond the black of his tie disappeared. She turned her attention to other sensations: the deep, steady sound of his breathing, the warm feel of his chest on her back.

"Lie down," he told her. She obeyed, moving to lay beside him. She heard the rustle of his belt, the smooth sound of fabric over skin, and the thud of his trousers hitting the floor. He was moving across the floor then, crawling perhaps, to rest at her feet. She felt the tips of his fingers and then his palm on each leg, moving a delicious path up her calves as his body moved closer to hers. Shivers of anticipation trickled from each point of contact and caused her to squirm against the blanket. She heard him chuckle from between her knees, and then his mouth was on her. She let out a short breath and a moan as his tongue tasted her skin and traced circles up her thigh. Every so often, he stopped to kiss her leg softly and breath hot air onto the spot. It drove her crazy, but he kept his grip on her thighs to hold her in place.

"Draco," she cried finally, her voice earnest and full of need.

"Yes?" he asked the tender skin just beside her center.

"Please," she replied, her hands buried in his hair, and he only chuckled again, _the evil git_. She couldn't see his face, but she was sure his smirk was featured there as he moved his way up her thigh, avoiding the very place she most wanted his touch. "You're just being mean now," she practically whined as his thumbs rolled circles into her hips. His lips were barely there, moving across her skin with a painful whisper. "Fuck," she arched, moving her body up to meet him, and he sighed dramatically.

"I suppose you did say please." His hands moved back down her body, much quicker than before, pulling her legs further apart, opening her to him. She wished that she could see him in this moment, but when his tongue finally flicked out to touch her, it was worth the blindness. Not knowing when he was going to strike seemed to make her body a hundred times more sensitive to his every movement.

"Oh …" she cried, "yes." She clenched her eyes shut against the blindfold and focused her energy on the way his mouth made her feel. He was alternating between quick swirls with his tongue and soft sucks with his mouth, and she was starting to burn. It was a slow and steady burn, but a fire that made her body need him closer, need him inside of her. As if he read her thoughts, one hand left her thighs, moving towards her center until his fingers were sliding inside of her, filling her as his mouth pulled her closer and closer to the edge. She clenched his hair tightly, trying not to hurt him, but needing something to brace herself against. She whimpered as she resisted the urge to push her body harder against his, her release just out of reach. "Draco," she said again, desperate. He quickened his pace, moving his fingers in time with his tongue, flicking her clit as she writhed beneath him, and then the burn became waves of pleasure pulsing through her body, and she cried out in relief.

When she was still, Draco moved up her body kissing her stomach and chest. His hands reached up to pull at the knot in the tie, and then she could see him grinning down at her. She smiled back as he tossed the tie aside. Hermione reached down between them and gripped his length in her hand. She rocked her hips off the blanket and up towards him. A moment later, Draco was buried inside of her. His eyes were locked on hers as he moved achingly slow, taking his time with each thrust. She watched him in return, lost in his grey eyes. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and her mind was suddenly full of that word again. It danced on her tongue, threatened to push its way past her lips, against her will. _Not like this,_ she insisted, _not now._

"Hermione," his voice was full of emotion, and his fingers brushed aside a curl that had come loose from her pins. She planted her feet, and rocked her hips in time with his. He still watched her, still held her gaze, as her fingers gripped his back. She was captivated. Those grey eyes made her feel exposed in a way that her naked skin never could. She was sure that he could see her thoughts in her own eyes. There was no looking away. There was no closing her eyes this time. She simultaneously wished for the safety of the blindfold and relished in the intimacy of this moment.

She watched his breathing quicken, his chest falling and rising in time with his movements. She felt his fingers tighten around her hip as his other hand held him above her. She dug her nails into his back as he finally let his head fall to her shoulder. He moaned against her skin as his release trembled through his body. Hermione's hands moved up into his hair, and she held him against her as they lay together, a tangle of limbs. She could feel his racing heart against hers.

"Draco?" she said, her voice cracking in the middle of his name as her throat was suddenly dry.

"Yeah?" He tried to move, kissing her shoulder in the process, but she held him against her. His eyes would surely still burn with the same intensity, and she couldn't look in them and speak. She would lose her nerve.

"I think … I ... I'm," she faltered and took a deep breath as his hand found hers, and he laced their fingers together. "I'm falling in love with you."

His laugh shook his chest against hers. He kissed the soft skin where her shoulder and neck met and then pushed himself to his side. She let him go, staring up at him, unsure. "Hermione Granger," he told her, his eyes just as vivid as she had expected, "I'm already there."

 **A/N: Just so you know … you all make me want to cry. There are over 300 reviews on this story and nearly every one is positive and loving. I just … I wish I had pretty words for you. Just know that I am amazed, awed, and humbled. Thank you for your love. Xoxo**

 **Also … I'm starting to sort of maybe a little figure out tumbler. You can find me there at goldensnitch-18. I would love to follow you as well. Because I sort of maybe a little am becoming addicted. Shhhh…. Don't tell me husband. He thinks I'm already on my phone allllll the time.**

 **Finally, please let me know what you think of this chapter! I was a ball of nerves about it, and my beautiful betas helped me to feel a little better! Reviews make my life.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	19. Chapter 19

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: Huge thanks to ErisAceso, oblivion . baby, & RooOJoy who all dropped everything to beta this chapter early so I could have it ready to go before I left for vacation.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Nineteen**

Draco grabbed the towel from beside the shower as he stepped out onto the mat. Hermione was already at the sink brushing her teeth. She was only wearing her bra and knickers, and he longed to take them off of her as he wrapped his towel around his own waist. They both had places to be this morning, so he settled on moving forward to wrap his arms around her waist and kissed her neck and shoulder. She sighed softly as she lifted her chin, giving him better access.

"I wish you didn't have to go." He squeezed her bum through the silky fabric of her knickers, and she waved him away with a laugh.

"You have a meeting this morning, and I thought you wanted me to tell them about us?" she asked, raising a brow at him.

"You know I do. I just wish we could spend our Saturday mornings in bed like normal people," he grumbled.

"Oh, and what would we be doing?" she was looking back at him in the mirror, a devious grin on her lips.

"Mmmm…" he moaned against her neck as his hand slid below the elastics of her knickers. "I imagine we could find all sorts of things to get up to," he whispered in her ear as a single, long finger moved inside of her.

"Draco … your meeting is at nine," she reminded him, but she fell back against his strong chest for support as he slid in and out of her. His thumb flicked over her clit.

"I don't mind being late," he told her. "I pay him to be there." His tongue drifted lazily up her neck, leaving a trail of shivers in its wake.

"It's just rude," she breathed as his teeth grazed skin. Her hand moved behind her to rest on the back of his head, holding him against her even as she protested.

"I don't care if he thinks I'm rude. You on the other hand, I very much care if you think I'm rude." A second finger joined the first, and she whimpered as her legs trembled against his.

"My parents …" she said lamely, all of her resolve gone.

"We'll be quick," he promised as he pulled his hand free of her. He spun her to face him, and she kissed him softly as he lifted her onto the counter. She tasted strongly of minty toothpaste, but he didn't care. He grabbed her knickers and moved them swiftly down her legs. Her fingers pulled at his towel until it fell loose from his hips.

Hermione's head fell onto his shoulder as he rocked into her. He watched the tight lines of her back in the mirror as her hands gripped the counter tightly while he thrust inside of her. She was going to need another shower, but Draco was fairly certain she no longer cared. He was entirely certain he did not.

XXX

An hour later, Draco was seated at the desk of his realtor. The man was a Muggle, but he had married a witch. In Draco's opinion, he was one of the few realtors in the Magical world who actually seemed to be capable in this field. Unfortunately, he was not exactly on the same page as Draco this particular morning. "Sell it?" he asked again, his frown deepened.

"Yes. As soon as possible," Draco reiterated.

The man's brow furrowed in confusion. "You have owned the property for such a short period of time, surely we could-"

"I just want it gone," Draco assured him.

"I understand the personal reasons behind this decision, but Mr. Malfoy, surely we could consider letting it?" he asked, hopefully.

"No. I want it gone. I don't want to own it any longer." He had lived in that home with Pansy, however briefly. He had bought it for Pansy. Any future that he would have - hopefully one with Hermione - did not include that house.

"You're going to lose a lot of money on this," the man insisted as if Draco didn't realize that fact already.

"I don't care."

"Maybe if you-"

Draco cut through his words, his voice icy. "I can assure you, whatever the number, it will be worth it."

"Look, Mr. Malfoy, I know that your divorce was... well…" he trailed off as he seemed to change his mind about what he was going to say, "but even if you hold onto this property for-"

"Mr. Benton." Draco leaned forward, resting his arm on the man's desk. He met his gaze and held it, determined to get his point across. "I know you are just trying to do your job, but I don't want this house. I don't want to own it, or be a landlord, or let it sit there and rot while I wait to not lose my arse on it. Get rid of it, or I will find someone else who will."

"Yes, sir. Of course, what price were you hoping to begin with?"

"List it below what we paid, and schedule appointments to have it shown as soon as possible. I will have someone in to clean this week, and you can set up a staging appointment, if you like. I doubt it will be necessary. Pansy had just finished up with the interior designer on the whole thing," Draco explained.

"You could probably move this home quickly listing it at what you paid, or even more." The expression on the realtor's face was pained.

"I don't care. I want it gone." Draco snapped, tiring of the man. "Make it happen."

XXX

Hermione's gardening gloves had a hole in them. She had been meaning to buy a new pair, but she kept forgetting. She rarely went anywhere that she could buy a pair of gardening gloves. Her mother had offered to replace them, but she had insisted that she would do it. Hermione was brilliant, surely she could remember to buy herself a new pair of gloves, but it had been nearly two months, and she was still using this old one with the hole in the left thumb. At one point, she had decided to put it off until her parents returned from summering in Paris, and then they had cancelled the trip. Hermione still suspected that had everything to do with her refusing to go with them.

Her mother was beside her on her kneeler. Her hands were covered with a pair of flowery gloves that matched the ribbon on the hat she wore while they worked. "Your father's been published again," she told Hermione as she pulled a weed from the dirt.

"That is wonderful. Does he have a copy for me?" Hermione asked.

"I set one aside for you. Don't let me forget to give it to you before you go."

"Okay." They fell into a companionable silence, which was how they did most of their work, but today it was different, at least for Hermione. She hadn't stopped thinking about Draco since she had arrived. She wanted to gush about him, spill to her mother that she was falling in love with someone, that she was finally happy again, but she was sure her mother would remember him. If only she had had the sense to be less honest in her youth, she would be in a much better position now. "Mum?" she said finally, falling back to rest on the grass.

Her mother looked up as if surprised that Hermione had stopped working. "Yes?"

"I need to talk to you about something." The confusion that crossed through her mother's eyes sliced her like a knife. She wondered when the last time she had said those words to her were. _Maybe the divorce?_ Too long ago for sure.

Her mother pushed back against the ground and resettled herself on the grass as well. She pulled one glove off and then the other, holding them in her time weathered hand, before placing them gently on her kneeler. "What is it?"

Hermione followed suit, pulling her gloves off and dropping them onto the grass. "I've been seeing someone."

She watched her mother's eyes light up in surprise, and then a soft smile spread across her lips. "That's wonderful, Hermione."

"I'm glad you think so," she told her earnestly.

"Of course, I do. Your father and I want you to be happy, love. We worry about you being alone so much." Her tone made it clear that this was something they discussed often, or at least at length.

"I know. I just needed some time." Hermione tried not to think about the nights crying in the shower after her life had fallen apart, but it was difficult not to recall the misery that had consumed her then.

"I know," her mother said softly. "Who is he?" Her smile broadened as she asked the question.

"We went to school together. He moved into my building a few months ago." Hermione still wasn't sure how to explain, or how her mother would react.

"Would I know him?"

"You saw him once. It was a long time ago," Hermione told her as she thought back so many years ago to the day when Arthur and Draco's father had fought in front of her parents at Flourish and Blotts when she was shopping for her second year. It hadn't exactly left her parents with a good impression, and it had only grown worse over the years.

"What is his name?" she asked.

"Draco," Hermione replied, her voice soft.

"Draco …" her mother let the word sit on her lips uncertainly for a moment as her brow furrowed, recalling information she had not used for so very long. Hermione watched, waiting, and then bit her lip as her mother located the name. "Hermione, isn't that the boy who was so terrible to you?" she asked as her eyes grew wide.

"Yes," she admitted. "He is a _very_ different man now."

"You told us - didn't he fight with the other side in your war?" Hermione's chin dropped open slightly before she caught herself and shut her mouth. She was stunned at the fact that her mother had brought up the war, something she had never done, something none of them ever did.

"Yes. He was just a scared child," Hermione insisted.

"He was the one who called you those names, and he was one of them. A Death Eater?" The way she said Death Eater would have made Hermione laugh in another lifetime. It was as if Draco had chosen to plant tulip bulbs in the spring instead of the fall.

"He had no other choice," Hermione told her, resolute.

"You always have a choice," her mother replied.

"His parents would have been murdered," Hermione pushed.

"Well, you certainly found a way around that," her mother snapped, allowing the pain Hermione knew she held inside to show. It was like ice had been poured into her veins.

"It isn't the same thing at all," she insisted anyway, even though she ached to apologize, again, to try to explain, again.

"How?" Her mother asked. There were tears in her eyes as Hermione stared back at her, unable to look away.

"You are Muggles. I was able to get you away before they discovered who you were. The Malfoys were already in too deep. His father had the Dark Mark, and that monster was living in their home," Hermione's voice trembled as she remembered that place, that horrible, horrible place where nothing good at all had happened during the war. It pained her to think about all the time Draco must have spent with those people, with Voldemort.

"What kind of parents would let their child be used by such an evil man?" her mother asked, shifting directions.

"I'm not dating his parents, Mum." Hermione tried to control her emotions as she attempted to find the words to make her mother understand. Nothing about the war had been right, and Draco's choices certainly hadn't been, but now he was hers. He was the only person that had been able to begin to reach her when she had been just going through the motions. "Harry wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Draco's mum."

"One good deed does not correct everything they taught that boy."

"He isn't a boy anymore. He is a man, and he has seen how broken I am and loves me anyway." The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. Her heart was racing, her voice unsteady, but insistent. Her mother stared back at her, her mouth, which had been a firm line, fell slightly open. Her hand twitched as if to grab Hermione's, but she seemed to think better of it and clenched her fingers as they fell back to her lap.

"Okay," the older woman breathed after they had sat in the heavy weight of Hermione's words for several long, painful minutes.

"I want you to meet him. Please," she pleaded, "just give him a chance."

Her mother's eyes slid over to her garden as she sighed. "And you? Do you love him?" she asked, her gaze moving back to her daughter.

"Yes," Hermione told her softly, and she did. She hadn't been able to actually utter those three words, _I love you,_ to him yet, but there was no more falling, or considering, or getting to know him. She was desperately, madly in love with Draco Malfoy, and she was certain there was no going back.

"Then we'll give him a chance. I'll talk to your father." Her mother pushed herself up from the ground, bending to collect her things.

"I can talk to him if you think-"

"No. I will," she cut through Hermione's words.

"Okay. Thanks," Hermione said as she moved to follow her mother towards the house. "Can I bring him with me for lunch next week?"

Her mother let out one more long sigh. "I suppose we might as well get this over with."

XXX

Hermione sat at the kitchen table with Ginny, her wine glass nearly empty, as they waited for Harry to return. He had gone up to check on the boys while she had cleared the table from their late dinner and let Ginny get off her feet.

"They are still sleeping," Harry announced as he came back into the room and took his seat again.

"Al's vocabulary is really exploding," she told them as she forced a smile. Her stomach was in knots.

"Yes, James is trying to teach him every naughty word we've ever told him he isn't allowed to say," Ginny said, and they all laughed at the thought.

"Hopefully he won't be too successful," Harry added.

"Yes, let's hope." Hermione traced the bottom of her glass with her finger. "I, well… I need to talk to you both," she blurted, changing the mood of the room abruptly from jovial to serious.

Harry leaned forward. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, of course." She waved a hand at him, and lifted the glass to her lips with the other, taking in one last attempt at liquid courage.

"What is it?" Ginny asked, her face blank of expression.

"I've been lying to you," Hermione admitted, covering her face with her hand for a few long moments. She dropped it to her lap and looked down at the wooden table. "I've been seeing Draco … since that night." Hermione waited for their reactions, possibly their shouting, or confusion, but neither spoke. The couple remained silent until she finally had to look up, taking in their expressions. Ginny was smiling at her, something sparkled in her eyes, and Harry's brow was furrowed, his expression still serious and stony.

"Is he being good to you?" Harry finally asked.

Hermione looked from him to Ginny once again, confused. "Yes, of course."

"You seem much happier, more like yourself." Ginny told her. "Does he have something to do with that?"

"Have you both lost your minds?" Hermione demanded. "I'm talking about Draco." It wasn't that she wasn't glad that they weren't shouting, or seeking explanations, but this was not the reaction she had been expecting.

"We know that," Ginny told her, "but, frankly, you were bloody miserable before. We much prefer you this way."

Hermione turned to look at Harry, who just shrugged in agreement. "I've been working with him nonstop for weeks. He's different."

"But, it's … Ginny, you nearly lost your mind when I slept with him!"

"That was when I thought he just wanted to shag you," Ginny insisted, waving a hand at the memory of her actions. "I saw the way he looked at you at the gala. That man is lost for you."

Hermione blushed, her mind reeling. "You …"

"We aren't stupid," Harry said, mocking irritation at her surprise.

"I don't think you're stupid, but …"

"When are you going to bring him 'round?" Ginny asked. "I'll make dinner. We can send the boys to Mum."

"W-What?" Hermione sputtered.

"You're serious about him, yeah?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I … he's … yes," Hermione agreed, unable to come up with a proper explanation in that moment for what exactly she felt about Draco.

"Well, then he'll have to get used to being around us," Harry explained as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"We're busy this weekend," Ginny said with a frown. "But maybe next? Does that work?"

"I …" Hermione tried to say something, to ask them again how on earth they could be so calm about all this and ready to have Draco over for a meal, but the words escaped her.

"Just check with Draco and let me know," Ginny said.

"Okay," Hermione agreed. She was too stunned to react, to even argue with her friends. "Yeah, I'll talk to him."

 **A/N: You all continue to blow my mind with your love and positive thoughts. Thank you so much. I am so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. You are the best readers. The very best.**

 **XOXOXO**

 **Meg**


	20. Chapter 20

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: I love my awesome beta team, but I did not wait for them to look this over because I missed two Thursdays. They should not be blamed for the sad state that this chapter is surely in without their help.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Twenty**

"They are going to hate me," Draco told her, eyeing the house in front of them.

"They might need some time. I told Mum how important you are to me. They will try," Hermione promised. He wasn't entirely convinced that she believed her own words. She'd been upset and out of sorts the previous weekend after she'd seen them. He was sure that her conversation with her mother hadn't gone all that well.

"If you say so," he mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously.

"I do," she insisted. Hermione grabbed for his hand, intertwining their fingers as she began to walk towards the door again. He followed behind, letting her lead him towards her parent's home, the home that she had grown up in, the home that her parents had abandoned for over a year while she had fought in a war that they didn't understand. Thoughts of the war and her parents brought his mind straight to those memories of her screaming while his Aunt Bella tortured her. He cleared his throat and wished he could clear away the images flashing through his mind just as easily. Hermione reached for the door and knocked loudly.

Her father opened the door after a long minute passed in tense silence. Hermione squeezed his hand in an attempt to reassure him. Her father was tall, taller than Draco, and his dark brown hair was greying. The lines on his face were deep and set around his brown eyes. Those eyes watched Draco with a sharp awareness as his mouth turned down.

"Dad," Hermione said, her voice mysteriously even and free of apprehension, "This is Draco."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Granger." Draco pulled his hand from Hermione's so that he could extend it to the man

Her father stared at his hand with that stern expression for several long moments. Draco was sure that he was going to refuse to shake it, but then the older man gripped his hand tightly and shook it once. "Come in," he told them, and turned his back to walk through the house. Hermione wrapped her fingers in his once again and they followed.

The house was bright and neat, much smaller than the manor he had grown up in, but much larger than the flat he was currently residing in. There were photos of Hermione, alone and with her parents, on the walls and various surfaces around their home. Each one was still, frozen in the way that muggle photographs remained. Draco nearly stopped to stare at one in particular. Hermione looked to be 5 or 6. Her four front teeth were missing as she smiled broadly at her mother and held up an award of some sort. The older version of the girl tugged on his hand again the moment his feet hesitated. Draco turned back towards her and began to move once again.

It didn't take them long to locate the kitchen. Hermione's mother was mixing salad in a large bowl, but she looked up at them with a confident smile as they entered behind her husband. "Hello," she said brightly, and Draco was forced to admit that it seemed she might actually be glad to see him.

"Draco, this is my mother," Hermione began.

"You can call me Monica," she told him as she wrung her hands on a dishcloth before reaching out to greet him. Draco tried to smile, but the stark difference between the two greetings had him off balance. Monica was beautiful, possibly even more so than Hermione was now when she had been young, but her hair had started to fade and the wrinkles around her eyes revealed a pain that her demeanor wasn't quite masking from him.

"Thank you for having me," he replied, and she waved her hand brushing it off. "We're happy to have the chance to get to know you, aren't we, dear?" Her eyes became focused and intent on her husband in that moment, but the man scoffed and shook his head. Hermione bit her lip and shook her own head so that it was nearly imperceptible.

"Hermione, I thought we would eat in the garden. Could you take this out," her mother asked, and then they were all working together carrying dishes and food and helping to prepare for their lunch.

XXX

The meal passed as Hermione and Monica led the conversation, discussing Hermione's work and then Draco's. They briefly talked about him listing his home for sale, and he dodged a question about his future housing plans. Her mother asked Hermione about the garden and if she thought that this tree was giving too much shade for those flowers, or if she thought they ought to get some rock to put in a small pond. Hermione feigned interest nearly as well as her mother was feigning kindness towards him. It was easy to see from the way her father avoided his eyes and said next to nothing, that the Grangers remembered him and his reputation from his childhood. He spent most of the meal trying to figure out what to say to these people to convince them to give him a chance. He loved their daughter, but he wasn't sure that was enough for them.

After they had finished eating, Hermione helped her mother clear the table. Draco tried to help, but her mother pushed gently against his arm as she told him to sit and let them take care of it. He couldn't help but think that this had been orchestrated, and he wasn't wrong.

Once Hermione was safely inside, her father looked at him for the first time since he had opened the front door. "What do you want with her?" he asked, and Draco felt his pulse quicken.

"I love her," he said simply, hoping that bluntness may help the situation. He was wrong.

The other man snorted, his displeasure with the answer clear. "So did the last one."

"I'm not like Ron Weasley," Draco insisted. He wasn't sure how her parents felt about Ron, but he didn't think it was great based off his reaction, and he could very much identify with the tone her father used when referring to him. As long as he lived, Draco wasn't sure he would ever understand how Ron had let Hermione push him away and just leave. She insisted that he hadn't had a choice, but wasn't there always a choice? His glimpses into what her life had been like after she lost Rose were limited, and her reaction to the news of Ginny's pregnancy had shocked him, but he couldn't imagine just letting her go, even if her father hated him.

"That I will give you. That boy …" he trailed off and stared at the tree his wife had been rambling about. "He planted that tree." This statement was nearly the last thing Draco had been expecting Hermione's father to say.

"Weasley?" Draco clarified.

"Yes. The summer after she graduated. He and Hermione bought it for Monica. I suppose it was to be a peace offering."

"Did it work?" Draco asked, dumbly. Of course it didn't work.

"Did you just sit through the same lunch I did?" Mr. Granger asked as incredulity spilled out from him. "Do you think my daughter cares how much sun the damn tree lets through? Do you think these are the kinds of conversations my brilliant wife expected to be having with her at this point in our lives?"

"Errr, no," Draco conceded.

"I would suspect if she brought you here, she is at least honest enough with you about her own relationship with her parents." His voice was now bitter and hollow.

"Yes, she is, sir." Draco honestly wished there was something he could do to help. He hated that this part of Hermione's life was still so full of pain and resentment, but didn't see any way that he could really mend any fences.

"I don't know what she sees in you. If I believed it would do any good, I would remind her that you are a good for nothing shit that used to make her send home tear stained letters. Calling her that fucking word …"

"I wouldn't," Draco began quickly, but he was cut off.

"Of course you wouldn't. Not now, but what would you be doing if she hadn't won?" He slapped the table in front of him. "What if that bastard had killed my daughter, or worse, and I was off living in Australia none the wiser that I even had a daughter to mourn? What would Draco Malfoy be doing right now?"

"I-I don't know," Draco stuttered, tripping over the words as flashes of memories and what could have been shifted through his mind in rapid succession. It wasn't as if this was a new train of thought for him. His life would be much, much different if Harry Potter and his friends had not succeeded at destroying the Dark Lord.

"I guarantee you that you wouldn't be with a woman like that," he stared into Draco's eyes and pointed towards the house, "no matter how brilliant she is."

"No, I suppose not," Draco reluctantly agreed. Chances were that the man was correct. He may not entirely understand the world that he and Hermione lived in, but her father understood how very different her fate could have been.

"Well, at least you aren't a liar."

They were silent for several long minutes, both staring out at the tree that provided too much shade. Finally, Draco needed to do something, or say something. "Mr. Granger," he began.

"What?" The other man's voice was even.

"I'm very sorry about what happened to your family and for the part that my family had to play in it." Draco was sure that the apology would mean little to nothing to this man, but he had to try.

"Have you told them about Hermione?"

"I haven't. Hermione has been reluctant to tell anyone until recently. I thought it might be easier for her to tell the people she loves and trusts first."

The older man shook his head again, but Draco was almost certain that it was pain and not anger that flashed across his face. "She doesn't tell us anything anymore."

"Do you tell her anything?" Draco asked, emboldened by that moment of fragility.

Her father just stared at the shade. Hermione opened the door and stepped out. She smiled uneasily, but Draco forced his lips to grin in response, and she seemed to soften. She crossed the stone patio to him and took her chair beside him again. "What are you talking about," she asked. Draco reached for her hand and took it in his. He rubbed his thumb in circles on her palm.

"About how crazy I am for you," Draco lied. She blushed softly, a steady, pretty hue rising on her neck and cheeks.

"Draco.." she said, exasperated, but he only leaned forward to claim her lips for several long moments.

XXX

His mother was getting ready for the theatre, but she had insisted that it was fine if he wanted to talk while she did her makeup. He'd listened to, and answered, her questions about the house, ignoring the heavy disappointment behind them.

"So, what did you need to talk about?" she asked as she swept a large brush across one cheek and then the other. Powder floated in the air around her.

"I'd like you to meet my girlfriend," Draco told her. He wasn't sure if girlfriend was really the right word to describe how he felt about his relationship with Hermione any longer, but it was the best he had.

"You're seeing someone?" Narcissa asked, surprised. "Why haven't you mentioned it before?"

"We were waiting to see if anything came of it," Draco assured her.

"Waiting to see? How long have you been together? You just got divorced." Her lips drew into a tight line.

"The beginning of March," he said simply, waiting. He watched her closely. Narcissa Malfoy was very good at concealing her feelings when she wanted to, but that was not usually a skill she reserved for her son. This though, this revelation, he wanted to know exactly how she felt about it, and it may be something she did try to hide, so he watched her eyes closely as her mind shifted through whatever process would get her back to that article posted in the Daily Prophet at the beginning of March. In the end, it wasn't necessary. Her mouth fell open and she began to stutter.

"Draco … surely … no … no, tell me it isn't her," his mother dropped her brush to the table and gave him her full attention for the first time.

"It is Hermione, if that is what you mean," he told her simply, knowing he wasn't being exactly fair. This was sure to be shocking news to his mother. She had been bothering him incessantly about where his life was going now that he and Pansy were officially divorced, but he was absolutely sure that Hermione had never crossed her mind.

"Your father," she groaned, covering her face gently with her fingers as she closed her eyes for a long minute.

"He'll get over it. I married Pansy. I tried. Now, it's my turn to be happy with whoever I like." He knew that her gut reaction would be to protect Lucius and his still backwards ideals. This was why he had come to her, alone, hoping that she could get to know Hermione before they had to break the news to his father.

"You couldn't find any other witch in the world to be happy with, Draco? No one else?" She sounded desperate at she stared up at him pleadingly.

"No," Draco said. "It wasn't exactly planned, but I'm not giving this up."

"For Merlin's …" She closed her eyes again and took a long, slow breath. "I knew moving into that flat was a mistake," she told him once she was looking at him again.

"She isn't a mistake, Mother," Draco insisted as he frowned back at her.

"Oh, really? How are you going to explain this to the Prophet? To your job that you love so much?"

"I haven't figured that out, but it wasn't really a lie. Hermione and I didn't start seeing each other until after the article." Sleeping together was another thing entirely, but his mother didn't really need that information.

"Draco, no one is going to believe that," she insisted.

"Well, I'm not sure I care," he countered, resolute in his view.

Narcissa shook her head, her curls bouncing around her face, as she stared on in disbelief. "You don't care? All _you_ have wanted and talked about the last ten years is restoring our name. You've worked your entire career for this, and you're going to throw it away for a girl? _This girl?_ She hated you!"

"I'm not throwing away anything. I love her," he told her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Your father is not going to take this well. We were hoping you and Astoria-" his mother trailed off weakly.

"I'm _not_ going to marry Astoria." It took everything he had not to roll his eyes.

"Are you going to marry Hermione? Are you going to have _children_ with her?" His mother asked, clearly annoyed by his feeling about the woman she had been imagining him with.

Draco couldn't help but cringe at the question. Children were not a topic he really enjoyed thinking about right now. "Not at the moment," he replied.

"But, it is possible. This woman may be the mother of our grandchildren. Our halfblood grandchildren."

"Mother,"

"Draco, I love you. I know that I shouldn't care, but your father," she insisted.

"I don't care," Draco cut her off. "I really don't. I can stand here, and listen to you, and pretend that it matters what he thinks, but it doesn't. I love him, but I don't know if I ever want to get married or have children, and right now I know that I love her, too, and she is going to be part of my life."

"Okay," Narcissa said, her voice breaking.

"I would really like for you to meet her," Draco said, his voice suddenly softer.

"I can talk to your father," she told him.

"No," Draco said firmly. "Just you. Come for lunch at my flat."

"At your flat?"

"Yes. I have a kitchen. I am a decent cook."

"Does she even want … the things that happened to her here." His mother sounded unsure for the first time.

"Yes," Draco assured her. "I met her parents yesterday."

"Oh. How did that go?"

"Her father still hates me. Her mother seemed to be nice, but it's entirely possible that she also doesn't really like me," Draco told her honestly.

Narcissa sighed. "Sounds like such a lovely match you've made here."

"I don't need you to tell me how difficult my own life is. Will you come to lunch?" he asked.

"Yes," she sighed softly. "I'll tell your father I'm having lunch with Andromeda."

"Thank you." He leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

"I love you, Draco," she told him. "I'm glad that you're happy." He nodded once and walked out of her room.

XXX

 **A/N: My deepest, heartfelt apologies for the wait. It has been a very busy few weeks and not posting was the worst! I will get the next one to you on time. Pinky Promise !**

 **Thank you for following, favoriting, and reviewing this story. I absolutely love hearing from you all. I am trying to be better about responding to them. I will keep working at it!**

 **You all are the best. You make my heart feel so full.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	21. Chapter 21

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: I adore my beta team. They are going to back beta this for you all sometime this week, but I am so behind on writing that I did not have time to give it to them before posting. I apologize for what I assume will be many errors. I hope you love it anyway.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Twenty One**

The evening had gone better than Hermione had ever expected, though it seemed that she should have known. As Draco had handed over the pie Hermione had made, Harry greeted him like he would as he would any colleague. Both men were smiling and laughing by the time they found Ginny in the kitchen. She hugged Hermione and then, surprisingly, Draco as well, welcoming him to their home.

Hermione had spent most of dinner watching the three of them talk. She added small things here or there, but the majority of her focus was on the way that Draco seemed to be entirely at ease here. He and Harry freely discussed work, telling stories about the horrible budget meetings they had been forced to endure. Draco had blamed Hermione for extending them with her legislation, and Harry had ribbed her for being the cause of further torture.

This conversation had somehow morphed into a discussion of Quidditch, another topic that Hermione had very little to add too. Draco and Ginny had gotten into a passionate debate about the reserve seeker the Harpies had just added to their roster. Ginny insisted that the woman would be a star in a few years, while Draco believed that she had already peaked. He was sure this would be particularly damaging to them because their current seeker had just married and been quoted as talking about a family eventually. He predicted that if they didn't find another option, their team would be scrambling to find a decent replacement when she inevitably announced her pregnancy.

"You, at least, had the decency to train up Devon to replace you before you left," Draco told her, and Ginny had looked pleased that he knew so much about her team and her career. "Do you ever think about going back?"

"All the time," Ginny sighed, her hand subconsciously moving to her stomach. "I'd love to go back to work eventually, but I don't think playing Quidditch will be in the cards again. Maybe commentating or reporting."

"You could coach," Draco offered. "You would probably be excellent at it."

"We could always figure something out for the kids when you are ready, Gin," Harry had told her.

"It would be nice to get out of the house again once this one is only enough to be left," Ginny admitted, and the conversation had morphed again as they started talking about James and Albus.

Draco's knowledge of Harry and Ginny's boys surprised her again. It seemed that he and Harry had talked about them at work, and he remembered things that she had told them about each of them. This was one area where Hermione could not keep to herself. She laughed along with the rest of them, telling Draco stories about the boys that made him actually snort into his beer.

Once they had finished eating, Draco helped Harry clean up while Ginny and Hermione moved into the living room.

"So?" Hermione asked.

Ginny grinned. "I honestly can't believe it, but I really like him."

Hermione matched her grin with one of her own. "He is very different now."

"He and Harry go on like they've been friends their entire lives!" Ginny said, waving back at the kitchen.

"I had no idea. I've been imagining this terrible, awkward dinner all week," Hermione admitted. "Instead, you all are just going on about work and Quidditch."

"Would you rather we argued with him or brought up the war?" Ginny teased.

"No, of course not. Thank you for just being yourselves. It means a lot." Hermione told her.

A moment later, Draco followed Harry into the room. Harry settled himself next to Ginny on the couch, and Draco moved towards her. He sat next to her, moving his arm around her shoulder. He leaned in to kiss her temple, and she rested her hand on his knee. She tried to remember back to that night when she had sat on this same sofa, wondering if she would ever be able to be honest with Harry and Ginny. She had thought that this very situation, Draco holding her while they talked, was impossible, yet here they were. He seemed at ease as Harry picked up the conversation again.

XXX

Draco rarely had visitors at work. The Goblins weren't exactly welcoming of the public 'snooping around where they don't belong.' He could probably count on one hand the number of times someone had arrived at his office unannounced, so when there was a knock on his door the following Tuesday, he was surprised. "Come in," he said and watched as the heavy wooden door slid open to reveal Harry Potter.

"Is this a good time?" he asked. He seemed hesitant to actually cross into the room.

"Yeah, this is fine," Draco told him. He set his quill down on the desk in front of him and motioned for Potter to take a seat.

Harry closed the door behind him and looked uneasily around Draco's office as he sat down. "They don't like you having people back here do they?" he asked, motioning back towards the door with his thumb.

"Er, no," Draco agreed, wondering what exactly Potter had gone through to make it to his office.

"Two goblins escorted me to the door," Harry told him. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised after what they still make me do to get to my vault." Draco lifted a questioning brow at him as he smirked. "They haven't quite forgiven me for stealing their Dragon.

Draco tried not to laugh, but he was not entirely successful. "So, what? You wanted to annoy them by coming to visit me in the middle of the day?"

Harry's expression shifted from sheepish to tense within moments. "No, it's about Hermione," he said.

Draco sighed heavily. Here it was. He knew that their dinner the other night had gone too well, and Hermione's friends had been too accommodating. Now Potter would tell him to stay away from her, let her down gently or some other bollocks. It wasn't going to happen. "I'm not going to stop seeing her."

Harry gazed back, confused. "No, that isn't it." He ran a hand through his eternally messy black hair as he readjusted in his chair. "I don't know … Gin and I, well, we weren't sure how much Hermione has told you about Rose."

Hermione's daughter was the last possible subject Draco had expected Harry to bring up. "Enough," he replied, unsure what exactly Potter was wanting to convey. Surely he had thought this was important enough to warrant a trip to Draco's work where he was apparently all but unwelcome.

"We weren't sure if you knew that it's coming up soon. Last year, well..." Harry paused to stare down at his hands and pick at a callus as if that movement could give him the right words. "She didn't handle it well."

"When is it?" Draco hated that this was a question he had to ask Harry instead of Hermione telling him herself. Part of him felt as if he was betraying her by having this conversation at all, but if it could allow him to help her in some way, then maybe it was okay.

"June fourth," Harry said.

"What do you think I should do?" Draco asked, curious what exactly Harry and his wife had imagined him being able to do for Hermione if they shared this information with him.

"I don't know. I don't even know if she will let you do anything. Last year she disappeared for a week. Wouldn't let Ginny or I in at all. She was a mess by the time we finally wore her down, and you met her parents, so, you know how that is." Harry shook his head.

"I'll figure something out," Draco told him, already hoping that Hermione would let him help her. He felt like they were at a place where she would let him. She had told him about her parents, been honest about how Ginny's pregnancy made her feel, and told him that she was falling in love with him. They were spending nearly every night together, surely she wouldn't cut him out of her life for a week, but Harry's confession that she hadn't even let him or Ginny in had him second guessing all of this.

"Thanks." Harry stood from his chair, hesitating for a moment before he spoke again. "Gin and I, we're really happy for you and Hermione."

"Really?" Draco asked, unable to resist prodding the other man.

"Look, I think we both know I wouldn't have chosen you for her, but maybe that is why it works so well. You and Ron are, well, very different, and maybe she just needed something different to remind her what it feels like to be alive." Harry avoided his gaze by turning to grab the doorknob. "And, I know that she is an adult, and she would hex me if she knew I said this, but if you hurt her, I will kill you." Harry opened the door, not waiting for a response, and then shut it behind him as Draco smiled after him.

XXX

As Draco moved up behind her, Hermione reached out to adjust the silverware for at least the third time. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him. His mouth moved to her neck, breathing against her skin. "You need to calm down," he whispered as he moved her hair to one side before he placed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

"That doesn't seem possible," she replied, but he felt her relax against him as he continued to kiss her. "Your mother is going to be here any moment," she protested weakly. He slid his free hand up under her shirt to slide it up her stomach until it landed on her breast. He wished that he had the time to unclasp her bra and feel her nipples between his teeth, but massaging her through the thin cloth would have to do instead. She whimpered quietly as his teeth grazed across her skin, and there was a knock at the door. "You are horrible," she breathed as his hands fell away from her.

Draco laughed as he began to walk towards the front of his flat. "You seemed calmer at least," he teased as she frantically adjusted her shirt.

When he opened the door, his mother was standing there looking nearly as nervous as Hermione had when she was fixing the table. "Draco," she said, forcing a smile.

He leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Thank you for coming," he told her. She nodded once, and they walked back into the flat together.

As he followed her, Narcissa looked around the room with unrestrained disappointment. "I don't understand why you are living here Draco."

"I needed a change and I was in a bit of a hurry when I originally moved. You know this mother."

"You could have stayed at one of our places while you looked for a new home," she told him, not for the first time.

"I know," he conceded, not willing to stretch out the same old conversation any longer. Hermione was standing beside his table. She was fidgeting, shifting her arms around into different positions as she waited for them to reach her.

"Mrs. Malfoy, it's lovely to see you," Hermione said nervously as they reached the table.

"It's lovely to see you as well, Hermione. Please call me Narcissa." Draco was impressed at the warm smile his mother managed to give Hermione. He motioned for her to take a seat at the table as Hermione did the same. As he sat, their lunch appeared, a bit of magic he had set up just for his mother's visit.

She looked over at him as she moved her napkin into her lap. "Please tell me that you are not always too lazy to take the five steps to your kitchen to get your lunch."

Hermione choked a bit on her water as she began to laugh at his mother. Draco ignored her, instead turning to Hermione to ask, "Are you alright?"

Hermione covered her mouth with her napkin as she coughed and nodded. "I'm sorry," she said with a smile as she was able to control herself.

Narcissa reached forward to ladle soup into her bowl during their exchange and then grabbed a roll from a basket. "Did you make this?" she asked Draco, eyeing her food.

"Yes," Draco told her as Hermione dished out her own lunch.

"Hmmm." Narcissa took her first bite of soup and nodded. "You did well enough."

Draco laughed at her. "Are you going to be as rude as possible to me today for making you come here?"

"As you are aware, I could have made us reservations at several restaurants where discretion would not be an issue. Sometimes it is nice to take the people we care about out to have a decent meal."

"Hermione and I go out together, Mother. I just thought it might be nice for you to meet somewhere more casual."

"Casual is one word for it," she agreed before shifting her gaze to his girlfriend. "Hermione, am I mistaken, or were you integral in that bit of House Elf legislation that was passed recently?"

"Oh," Hermione covered her mouth again as she realized that she had just started talking while chewing on a piece of bread. She swallowed quickly, blushing as she nodded. "Yes, I had been working on it nearly all of my career, but Draco actually helped me rework it at the last minute. He was really great."

Narcissa raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at her son. "You did?" she asked him.

"I just helped her with the presentation a bit," Draco insisted. "She was brilliant." He had no idea how his mother felt about the new law. They hadn't discussed it. He was sure that his father had probably ranted about it rather extensively.

"Well, I think it was impressive work," Narcissa told Hermione. Draco wondered if Hermione would notice that his mother was subtly avoiding giving her own opinion on the matter while still complimenting her.

"Thank you."

"Do you intend to remain in Magical Creatures or do you have other aspirations as well?" She asked.

Hermione glanced towards him, and Draco tried to keep his face blank. His mother was certainly not going to spend much time on small talk today. "I enjoy my work, but if the right position opened up, I would apply."

"I always thought you would make an incredible Minister for Magic," Narcissa told her. Draco struggled to hold back a wide grin, and Hermione began to gape like a fish. "Is that something you would be interested in?"

"I would, well, yes, it is something that I have considered working towards," Hermione said, sounding entirely unsure if this was the correct answer.

"There is nothing wrong with having ambitions dear," his mother told her as she nodded in approval. "Especially for a Malfoy."

"Mother," Draco said firmly as she crossed a line.

"Why am I here if that is not where this is going?" she asked. He knew her entirely too well to fall for her play at being innocent.

"I told you …"

"I know what you told me, Draco, but the two of you need to think seriously about what you are doing here. I love you, and if this is what both of you want, then I will support you. I will argue with your father, tell the press how much we love Hermione, and I will do my best to get to know her, but if either of you is second guessing where this is going or how committed to each other you are, then you better keep this is the dark." She looked from him to Hermione as she spoke. "You are both risking ruining your careers over this. Draco has built his reputation back up from the ashes, and you think you may want to be Minister for Magic one day. I honestly believe that you could succeed, but not if the two of you go public with a relationship that is treated like an affair."

"This is _not_ an affair," Hermione insisted.

"I believe you. I am confident that my son would not have asked me to meet you if that was the case. I am only asking both of you to be sure that you want to proceed with moving this relationship into the public eye."

"That is not your place," Draco told her.

"I beg to differ," she told him firmly.

Hermione looked at him again, her expression hard to read. "We have both come to the realization that this relationship is not going to end anytime soon, Mrs. Malfoy. We will surely have to determine how to navigate the press, but I appreciate your support, and I look forward to getting to know you better."

"Spoken like a true politician." Narcissa smiled as she raised her soup spoon to her lips.

XXX

 **A/N: I hope you liked this chapter ! I can't wait to hear all your thoughts in the reviews this week.**

 **You all continue to make my heart want to burst with the love you have shown this story. You are amazing! I started posting another Dramione this week if you want to check it out. It's called Reformed. It will take a back seat to this story, but it's there because I couldn't hold it back any longer!**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	22. Chapter 22

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: I adore my beta team. They are going to back beta this for you all sometime this week, but I am so behind on writing that I did not have time to give it to them before posting. I apologize for what I assume will be many errors. I hope you love it anyway.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

* * *

 **Chapter Specific Trigger Warning: The majority of this chapter occurs on the 2nd Anniversary of Hermione losing Rose. I know that I have several people reading who have suffered losses. I have tried to handle this issue as delicately as possible, but there is a lot of opportunity for hurt in this chapter. This chapter features Hermione breaking down emotionally, discussions of her grief, loss, and of Rose, and a visit to the gravesite with Ron. If you would like to skip this chapter, please PM me. I will gladly send you notes of important plot details that should allow you to continue to read.**

 **Chapter Twenty Two:**

Hermione and Draco were next to each other in her bed. Hermione was lost in her book when she felt his lips on her jaw, kissing her softly at the same moment his fingers wrapped around her book. She tried to hold onto it, but he pulled it out of her grasp, moving it behind him somewhere beyond her reach.

"What are you doing?" she asked, annoyed that he hadn't let her mark her page.

His fingers danced up her stomach as she felt him smirk against her skin. "Distracting you," he whispered.

She tried to stay irritated with him, but it was nearly impossible. "I was enjoying that, you know," she chastised.

As she spoke, he slid down the bed until his face was even with the hem of her shirt. His palms rested on either side of her hips and pushed the thin cotton up slowly as he kissed a path up her stomach. "You enjoy this too," he murmured, driving her crazy as the vibrations of his words shivered through her body. He was right, of course, which just annoyed her more. He reached her breasts with a soft sigh. "You're so beautiful," he told her and then licked a path up to her nipple to take it in his mouth. She arched into him, moaning as his teeth just barely grazed over the sensitive nub.

"You're crazy," she told him, trying to control her voice as his thumb brushed against her other breast. He chuckled against her skin, pulling back to grab her shirt again. She pushed up from the bed, helping him to remove it. She had lost this battle before it had even begun. She had no interest in stopping him.

"You drive me crazy," he insisted and claimed her mouth with his. His kiss was as slow as his movement up her body had been, drawing out the anticipation of what he was going to do to her. His hand found her hair, fingers lost in the tangles of her messy bun. She was unable to hold back the stupid grin that his silly behavior elicited. "I want to take you out," he whispered as he held her gaze. "Tomorrow night."

Hermione hesitated, unsure of what to say to that. She hadn't entirely decided how to deal with the impending anniversary. It was two days away, and she hadn't mentioned it to him once. As far as she knew, he had no idea when exactly it was. She knew that she should say something, tell him that she was likely to be falling apart at any moment, but she couldn't do it. "Sure," she told him, forcing the word past her lips. She instantly regretted it, and the nerves in her stomach turned to snakes, twisting around with fervor.

"Good." He smirked. "I already made the reservation."

"Of course you did." She shook her head at him, trying to shake away the thoughts his invitation had brought to the surface of her mind. She was trying to hold it together as long as possible, and dwelling on them was the quickest way to fail at that goal.

Draco moaned in satisfaction as his hand, which she hadn't even realized had moved, slid beneath the waistband of her pyjamas and moved inside of her. "Apparently," he whispered to her ear, "you like it very much when I'm crazy." She could hear the triumphant pride in his voice, but she didn't really care. The things this man did to her were beyond resisting. She was his for the taking. Minutes ago, she had been happily reading, and now she was a puddle of heat and need. She arched her back slightly, pushing herself further down his fingers.

He chuckled as she pushed at her pyjamas and knickers with her hands, moving them out of his way. Draco continued to move inside of her as she blushed at his amusement. Her embarrassment at his reaction to her forwardness didn't stop her from pushing at his own trousers, shoving them down his body. Draco slid his fingers from her as he kicked them off the rest of the way. She took his length in her hand, stroking him as she urged him to replace his fingers. He teased her opening, continuing to be amused by her frustration. When she finally demanded, "Draco, stop it," he finally slid inside of her, and Hermione sighed in relief and appreciation. He kissed her neck as he moved with steady, even, slow strokes, filling her again and again.

She held him close, moving up to meet his thrusts, breathing heavy. His hand clutched the pillow beside her head, his lips moving to her ear, whispering, "You are so beautiful," and "You make me crazy," and "I love you."

XXX

Draco woke up alone. For several long minutes as he hesitantly slipped from sleep, just like any other morning. He stretched his limbs, working them as he yawned widely. He opened his eyes, expecting the soft light of the morning sun to be pouring into the room, but it was still dark and the bed was empty.

Then he remembered. They had gone to dinner the night before. It had been a Muggle restaurant, one of the more ridiculous ones that he had been to. The exorbitant amount of money he had spent on their dinner had come with a private room. Hermione had seemed fine, but she drank more than usual. She had laughed at his jokes, listened to him complain about work, told him an animated story about the time that she had set Professor Snape's robes on fire, and let him push her up against the wall of the hallway outside their flats when they had returned, tasting of pudding and expensive champagne. They hadn't made it to her bedroom. Instead, they had stumbled through the flat, ultimately stopping on the floor of the hallway outside the bedroom door. She had dug her nails into his skin, moaning loudly as he slid inside of her. It had been quick and dirty and just what she seemed to need to push off today.

Today.

The anniversary of Rose's death.

Draco pushed the blankets off of his legs, rising from the bed quickly before making his way around to the door. He moved through her flat, finding it empty. He went back to the bedroom then, heading for the closed bathroom door. It was silent and dark inside as far as he could tell, but it would have been easy for her to put a Silencing Charm on the door. He hesitated, his hand hovering over the knob for a long moment, and then he reached down to turn it, pushing the door open at the same time.

As soon as he passed the threshold into the room, Draco could hear the sharp pounding of the shower water mixed with desperate sobs. He moved to the shower and pulled the curtain aside. Even without the light, he could see Hermione curled in the corner, knees and forehead touching. Her sodden hair clung to her back and arms as her entire body shook with the force of her sobs. She was still wearing her pyjamas, and she didn't seem to have noticed him.

Draco didn't bother to remove his own trousers before he moved inside the stream of water. He fell to his knees and pulled her towards him. Hermione clung to him, wrapping her own arms around his neck as she choked on her tears. She began to cough as he rubbed her back, murmuring any words of comfort that he could think of. _It's okay. I love you. I'm so sorry. I'm here._

"It's not fair," she finally whimpered. "I just want her back."

Her words sliced through him, cutting him in places he hadn't even known existed. This pain was inside of her every day. Below the surface of her smiles, her laughter, and her irritating ability to know absolutely everything about everything; this woman that he loved felt this crushing despair and loss - a hole in her life that could never be filled - and it killed him that he was useless in this moment. There was nothing he could ever do to make this better. He could comfort her, hold her while she cried and screamed, but that absence would always be there where Rose was missing in her life.

"Me too," he said. "I would do anything for you to have her back." He realized then that he was crying as well, and his own body was shaking in time with hers as the water washed over them both. It pained him to even think it, but he would gladly have her back with Weasley, which would leave Draco alone or folding under his mother's pressure to date Astoria, if it meant that she would have Rose back in her arms.

He had no idea how long they had stayed there like that. By the time he had coaxed her out of the shower, pulled her soaking pyjamas from her body, and led her into the bedroom where he dried her with his wand, the early glow of dawn was just starting to filter through the curtains. She sat on the bed while he rifled through drawers, grabbing new clothes for her, and then helped her get dressed. He was sure she could do this herself, but he wanted to help her, to show her that he cared in whatever small ways he could.

"Thanks," she told him dully as he pulled the blankets up over her shoulders again.

He didn't respond as he dried his own body and pulled on new pants and trousers. Then he moved around the bed to slide in beside her. He grabbed his wand, casting a charm at the window to darken the room once again. After he set his wand back down, he rolled over to pull her closer, an arm at her waist.

"You should probably get ready for work," she whispered.

"I can go to my place if you want," he told her, "but I took the day off."

"What?" Her eyes widened, alarmed.

"I'll go, it's fine. Let me know if you need anything though, please. I'm worried about you." He kissed her forehead and tried to scoot back to move out of the bed, but she gripped his arm tightly.

"Don't go. I was just surprised," she admitted.

"I understand if you want to be alone," he told her, but he really didn't want to go. If he went home, he would drive himself mad worrying about her. Today wasn't supposed to be about him, of course, but he knew that was what he would be in for, nonetheless, and he certainly wasn't going to turn down the chance to stay if she would let him.

"I don't," she insisted. "I was alone last year, and it was …" She trailed off, biting her lip as she looked at the window, avoiding his gaze.

"Harry mentioned it," he admitted. "He was worried about you too," he added, trying to head off her anger that they had been talking about her behind her back.

Instead of being upset, Hermione smiled for the first time that morning. "I suppose I did spend nearly all of our childhood worrying about him. He can have a turn." She moved closer to him, making it natural for him to wrap his arms around her again. As her head rested on his shoulder, he let his own fall back on the pillow. She was quiet for a long time, long enough that Draco was sure she had fallen back asleep. He had closed his own eyes, listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing until she spoke. "Draco?"

"Yes?" he asked, his voice heavy.

"Have you thought about what your mum said?" she asked, her hand sliding up to rest on his chest.

"What do you mean?" He didn't want to think about his mother, or her bold chastisement, but if that was what Hermione needed to keep her mind off Rose, he supposed that was what he was going to have to do.

"About being sure? About where we go from here?"

"I'm sure. I would tell everyone today," Draco admitted.

"I'm sure too," she whispered, "but that scares me. I keep thinking about these things that could go wrong, or how could this affect your job, and…"

"None of that matters." Draco turned once again, moving so that he was on his side while she lay on her back, and he could see her face. "I mean, it does, I don't want to lose my job, or have our lives all over the paper, but I'm not going to give this up to stop that from happening. I think we can figure out ways to keep that to a minimum."

"Okay. Like what?" Hermione asked.

"I've been thinking about it a lot. I think the answer came to me at the Anniversary Gala, actually," he smirked down at her, and he saw her brow furrow in confusion. "Weasley and Brown were there, and you all acted like old pals."

"And? How does that help us?"

"I have access to a private box for Quidditch games. I was thinking that the four of us and the Potters could go to a match together. The press would have a field day. We would be photographed together, but if Ron is with us, enjoying himself-"

"People will still assume things, of course, but it will help." She stared off, thinking it through. "Ron would probably do an interview if we asked him to."

"Yes," Draco agreed, smiling. "We could do one also, if we really needed to. I can let Gringotts know. They don't mind planned press that we control."

"We can do that. We will have to find someone we trust. I have some ideas. I've worked with a few reporters for the Ministry, but I've never done anything personal with any of them. How will we spin getting together when we did? It was the article?" she asked, giving voice to his own thoughts.

"Yes. We met for lunch after the article was published, became friends, and quickly fell in love." It was nearly the truth, it just left out a few details that didn't need to be shared with the Wizarding world at large.

"Do you think it will all seem too sudden?" she wondered, seriously.

"It was sudden," he pointed out.

"This whole situation has been very unlike me," Hermione acknowledged with another sad smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You are a terrible influence."

"You seem to rather enjoy my terrible influence," he teased, causing Hermione to roll her eyes.

"I will talk to Ron. Maybe I should reach out to him today." Her face was suddenly tense, her teeth pulled at her bottom lip.

"You could owl him. Is there somewhere the two of you could go to visit her maybe?" Draco prompted, his words slow and hesitant. As much as he hated to give her up on this day, if she needed to see Weasley, he wasn't going to try to stop her.

"There is." Hermione rubbed at her face and then moved to sit up in the bed, leading Draco to do the same. "I haven't been back since we …" Draco leaned in, grabbing her hand as he kissed her shoulder.

"If you aren't ready, then you shouldn't go."

"I think I am." Hermione looked down at their joined hands. "I … I miss her. It hurts so badly, but it isn't like last year. Last year I was drowning in it, and, now, I can breathe at least. Having you here … I was worried, but thank you." She leaned forward, kissing him softly as she squeezed his hand tighter.

XXX

Ron was already there when she arrived. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but his mouth was moving. He was talking to Rose while he kneeled in the grass. Hermione wondered if this was something he did often, if she was the only one that hadn't been able to bear to visit this place. As she approached, Ron stood, a grim smile moving across his lips.

"Hey," he said softly, as she reached him. Ron closed the final few feet between them and hugged her tightly.

"Hey," Hermione told him through the large lump forming in her throat. "I can't believe there aren't any reporters camped out here," she added as she pulled back. She had looked carefully as she walked up, waiting for them to show themselves, trying to get her picture. The thought was sickening, but it was also reality.

"There were several," he told her, his expression suddenly dark.

"Oh," she replied simply, not wanting to know what he had done, but grateful all the same. She couldn't have done this knowing that she was being watched, or recorded. This was too intimate a moment. She knelt down as he had been before, placing her hand on the cold stone. She felt him move beside her, his knees hitting the grass with a soft thud, and then his hand was on her back, solid and steady. "Hello, love," she whispered, tears starting to roll down her cheeks as she closed her eyes. Her body shook with tremors as she recalled that day in snapshots, her mind flitting from moment to moment. Her heart seized with despair as she remembered the way the healer had looked after he had run his diagnostic. "Mummy misses you so much, Rosie." She choked on the words, struggling not to entirely fall apart as Ron supported her, his arm moving around her back to pull her closer.

"Sometimes it feels like I was just holding her yesterday, unable to believe that I had to let her go, and other times I struggle for the details." Ron's voice was nearly as full of emotion as her own. It had been so long since she had heard his voice that way, broken and pained. Even then, she hadn't truly been listening to him. Every time she had looked at him, she had seen their daughter, the way her small tufts of barely there hair had almost glowed a deep, brilliant red. She wanted to know what would have happened to her hair as she had grown. She wanted to know what color her eyes would have turned. She wanted to know what her smile would have looked like. She wanted to know if she would have had Ron's freckles or her large teeth. She wanted these things like she needed air, the desire was always there, always lingering in the back of her mind.

"Do you come here often?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ron told her simply, not providing any more detail.

"That's good." She opened her eyes to look over at him. He met her gaze, and his forehead fell forwards against hers, and they both closed their eyes again, remembering when the three of them had been about to become a family and life had been so much simpler. There was a moment when Hermione wanted to pull him closer, to wrap her arms around him, and try to remember what they had lost. She was overwhelmed with the memories and the familiar sensation of Ron consoling her as he had done hundreds of times over their lives, but then she exhaled, pushing the whispers of the past back where they belonged as she pulled back from him. "Thank you for meeting me here," she whispered.

Ron turned away from her, back towards the stone, and pulled his arms from her body, the moment of intimacy between them passing. "Of course."

 **XXX**

 **A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope that it did this situation justice.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	23. Chapter 23

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: I adore my beta team. They are going to back beta this for you all sometime this week, but I am so behind on writing that I did not have time to give it to them before posting. I apologize for what I assume will be many errors. I hope you love it anyway.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Three**

Hermione took the rest of the week off from work. Draco went back the following day after she insisted that she was fine, but she needed some time alone. By the following Monday, she was ready to get back. The walls of her flat were driving her crazy, and the Potter's had owled her or Draco no less than four times to check on her. She walked into work with a smile on her face, though it may have been slightly forced, and her mind on her to-do list. It was not like her to take time off, but she had needed this break to get through the emotions that came with this particular time of year. It had been better this year. Having Draco had helped, but it wasn't just that one thing. She was different.

Hermione was happier. Draco had started that, surely, but the happiness extended beyond him now. It had spread into her friendships. She enjoyed being with her friends and hearing about their lives. She laughed more freely now and didn't find herself dwelling on the pain nearly as much. It was still there, under the surface, but it was giving way more and more to joy and new beginnings.

Her work was also changing. She had buried herself in it after the divorce. She had convinced herself that she was doing good by putting in so many hours, but in truth, it had been suffocating her. She was good at her job, but she had been drawing little pleasure from what she did until the past few months. Working with Draco on the law, debating the nuances of her presentation, had been one part of that, but she was also working more freely with her colleagues and becoming more adept at setting boundaries and limits on what was healthy for her to achieve in a day or a week.

Her assistant had certainly noticed the change and had, in turn, also seemed to enjoy his work more. On that particular Monday, however, he looked nervous as she approached her office. He stood when he saw her approaching, hurry to move over to her. "The Minister and Mr. Kraus are waiting for you in the Minister's office," he told her as his hands closed over her bag and jacket. "You better go right away." Hermione stared back, stunned.

"What?" she asked. "Did they say what they need?" She had never been called to the Minister's office like this before. She rarely worked on anything with a pressing time table, so it was easy to schedule her meetings with plenty of time to prepare.

"No, just that they wanted to see you first thing this morning." He looked back at her, clearly sympathetic to her surprise.

"Okay. Thank you," she told him, still out of sorts. She turned back from her office, trying to determine what this could be about as she moved through the Ministry. She was sure that everything had been right on track for the legislation she was working on when she had left work the past Tuesday. Something _could_ have happened with that, but it was unlikely. She suspected that they would have owled her if that was the case, but they may have been hesitant. They both knew why she had taken the time off.

By the time that she arrived outside the Minister's office, Hermione was feeling the effect of her nerves on her body. Her stomach flipped, and the lipstick on her bottom lip had surely been worried off by her teeth. "I'm here to see the Minister," she said, and the woman at the desk waved her on, not bothering to even greet Hermione as she passed.

She opened the door to booming laughter. "Hermione, come in." Kingsley waved her over to the seat next to Kraus.

"I'm sorry if I'm late, sir," she said, hurrying across the room to take her seat. Both men seemed to be in good spirits, so she did feel better about the summons.

"Nonsense." Kraus waved away her concern.

"Cartwright put in for his retirement last Thursday. He wants to train a replacement and be out by the end of the year," Kingsley told her. Hermione's eyes narrowed as she tried to place the name, and then it clicked.

"He's the …"

"Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office," Kraus finished, his smile was a broad beaming grin at this point.

Hermione's brow furrowed. "Okay." She wasn't really sure what she could do for them. Hermione had never really been interested in working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. That was Harry's area, and it had been Ron's before he left to work at the joke shop. She hadn't honestly given the department that much attention over the years outside of what Harry told her.

"Have you considered what you would like your next step to look like here at the Ministry?" Kingsley asked, his own smile rivaling Kraus'.

"Err…" Hermione was starting to feel uncomfortable. The two of them were obviously plotting something. "Just a little," she finally conceded. Why in the world was everyone so concerned with her future all of the sudden?

The two men shared a knowing glance. "I would like you to consider taking over for him, Hermione," Kingsley admitted.

Her jaw dropped open, her mouth working without actually saying anything. "But," she finally sputtered, "I don't know anything about that department. I don't really have any interest in it. Surely there is someone beneath Cartwright that would be a better fit?"

Kraus leaned forward in his chair, his hand fell onto the arm of her own chair. "Hermione, you have been an incredible asset to my department, but let's be honest. You did it. You passed the legislation that you signed up to get through. It's time to move on and get serious."

"I know this probably isn't your dream position, but the Head of the D.O.M.L.E. has been whispering to me about retiring in a few years as well. This would be a prime position for you to move in as Deputy Head when that happens." Kingsley said all of this perfectly calmly while Hermione gaped at him like an idiot.

"What?"

"I want you to be my successor, Hermione. I think the election could easily go your way when I do step down, but we have to be proactive now. We have to think about the future now. You have to be seen as versatile. You have proven the legislative side of things. Everyone knows you will fight for the right thing, now you need to get into the D.O.M.L.E. and show them that you can be firm and fair as well."

"You want me to be Minister?" Hermione asked. It was one thing for Narcissa to ask her about her dreams. It was another thing entirely for the Minister to share that their wishes were aligned in this area.

"Don't you?" Kingsley asked, as if this was obvious.

"Well, I, yes, of course," Hermione told him.

"Then we're agreed. You will take the job?"

"I …" Hermione stopped, staring between the two men as her mind raced through five different arguments at once. She had walked into the Ministry today content that she was finally taking her life back. It felt good to be alive again, but this was so much. Four months ago, Draco had been married, and she had been lost in her job and her misery, floundering without even realizing it. Now she was trying to figure out how to approach her relationship with Draco without it ruining both of their careers, and the Minister was telling her that he wanted to help her plot her path to his job. "I would like to take some time to consider it, but I have to tell you something," she finished, realizing that she wouldn't be able to accept the position until she had told the Minister about her relationship.

"Of course, anything," Kingsley encouraged her.

"I've been seeing Draco Malfoy for three months. We are intending to take our relationship public in the coming months." It was Kingsley's turn to stare, apparently unable to find the right words.

"What?" Kraus snapped beside her. Hermione looked over at him. He looked hurt, if anything.

"It was the article," Hermione lied, giving the same story Draco had told his mother. "We started talking and became friends. It became serious pretty quickly from that."

"Do you have a plan?" Kingsley asked, his expression unreadable. He had put on the story expression he used during his interviews with the press.

"I'm having lunch with Ron this week. We're hoping that he and Lavender will join us at the World Cup so we can do it there," she told him.

"Let me know how that lunch goes."

"I will," she agreed, suddenly feeling even more pressure to figure out how to go public with her relationship without looking like the terrible woman Rita has portrayed her as months ago in her article.

"I have some connections with the Prophet. We all know what a bunch of useless idiots they hire over there, but a couple of them aren't too bad," he assured her.

"I had some ideas as well, but I would love to hear your suggestions." Hermione glanced over at Kraus. He was still staring, his lips pressed tight. She knew that he didn't care for Draco, so she was sure that he was choosing to stay out of the conversation on purpose.

"Does Harry know?" Kingsley asked, his demeanor changing back to the man she knew as her friend.

"Yes."

"He and Draco have been getting along rather well lately," he said, as if this was to blame for her relationship.

"Yes," Hermione agreed, smiling at the memory of Draco laughing with her friends.

"We can work with this. May be a hiccup, but it's not going to sink you. Are you planning to marry him?" Kingsley asked, bluntly.

"I - no, not at the moment," she tripped over her answer to the unexpected question

"Hmm, okay." He narrowed his eyes, rubbed at his chin, and nodded. "Let me know if that changes."

XXX

Hermione pushed at her salad. She wasn't very hungry. It was the nerves, she knew it was, but knowing the source didn't help her appetite at all.

"So," Ron began, "what did you want to talk about?" He took a bite of his sandwich as he finished talking. His appetite seemed perfectly in place.

She tried to think of something else to bring up to push back the conversation she needed to have with him, but there was nothing left to talk about. They had explored all of the niceties already. They had talked about work, Lavender, and their nephews. There was no more pushing it off, as much as she wished that she could. "I told Harry and Ginny about Draco."

There was a momentary freeze of his hand as he dropped his sandwich, and then his eyes met hers. "That's good."

"Yeah. We had dinner with them. It went really well. It was weird." She let out a nervous laugh. "He and Harry have had to work together a lot in the past couple months."

"Harry told me that. Seemed to think that he had become a decent bloke," Ron admitted with a shrug. Hermione nodded and tried to think of what to say next, but Ron made it unnecessary. "So, it's going to last then?" he asked.

"Yes. We've decided to start thinking about how to go about telling people." Hermione told him as she ran her thumb along the condensation on the side of her glass.

"I'm assuming that because we are having this conversation you need my help somehow?" Ron didn't look upset by this, but his eyes were intense as he looked at her, making her feel wrong for avoiding his gaze.

"We were hoping that you and Lavender would come to the World Cup with us. Draco and his friends will have a box." She finally met his eyes at this, watching his mouth fall open a bit in surprise.

"You want us to go the Quidditch World Cup with you?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yes. I'm going to ask Harry and Ginny, and maybe some other people. I'm not sure yet." Ron's love for a Quidditch match was one of the things that had never changed. She had gone to a few of Ginny's match's with him, but, usually, she had tried to have something else to do when he and Harry decided to go, which was as often as they could.

"So, the plan is that we are all friends?" he asked, clearly skeptical of the plan.

"Yes," she agreed.

"Are they good seats?" He stared at her with a serious expression that made her want to smack the back of his head. Who cared if they were the worst seats in the stadium? This wasn't about the seats!

"Seriously, Ronald?"

Ron laughed out loud at her reaction. "Okay, okay. I will do it. Let me talk to Lavender and make sure, but I don't think she will have an issue with it."

"Does she know … about him." It was so odd, sitting here over lunch as they had done hundreds of times, talking about her boyfriend and the woman that was having his child.

"Yeah," Ron told her.

"Okay." She tried to keep her voice even, but she was sure there was a bit of tremor in the word.

Ron shrugged. "She's my -"

"It's fine," she cut over his words, not wanting to hear his explanation. He shouldn't have to explain. "I know. I would have told Draco," she added, trying to convey her thoughts.

"Of course," he agreed, and they fell into an uncomfortable silence.

After a few bites of her salad, Hermione looked back up to see him watching her. "It's just an adjustment," she said quietly.

"I know," he told her, a smile beginning at the edges of his mouth.

XXX

"How was your lunch?" Draco asked her hours later. They were laying on the couch together, her chin on his chest.

"Fine. He's going to talk to Lavender and let us know."

"It's free Quidditch. What is there to think about?"

"You know Ron is quite able to buy his own Quidditch tickets. He does it regularly."

"Mmmm…" She glared at him and rolled her eyes as he leaned forward to kiss her softly. "I'm just kidding."

Hermione pulled back from him, trying not to let him seduce her away from the conversation. "No, you aren't. You don't have to like him, but if you could refrain from making any jokes about money, or his family at the match that would be wonderful."

"Fine, fine," Draco sighed, "I will just make sure Potter is between us at all times. He can be our buffer."

"The fact that Harry is now able to be your buffer is just ludicrous," she smiled as she shook her head softly.

"I'm irresistible. You know that." He smirked down at her.

"I certainly hope that you didn't lure Harry into your good graces the same way you did me," she teased, before nibbling at his neck with her teeth.

"You mean with firewhisky and sex on my kitchen floor? I'll never tell." He genuinely smiled at this, and Hermione snorted as she laughed, trying desperately not to imagine Harry and Draco in the same position they had been in months ago at the beginning of this crazy relationship. "Have you made a decision about the job?" he asked as she calmed.

She sighed, resting her chin back on his chest. "No."

"I don't understand your hesitation," he admitted. "This is what you want. The Minister is willing to help you get it."

"But getting there by working in Improper Use?" She crinkled her nose in distaste. "What am I going to do there?"

"Lead the Department. This is huge," he urged her.

"I don't want this Department," she insisted.

"It's temporary."

"It's a few years at least."

"It's a stepping stone. You'll be in prime position for the Deputy Head position."

"I know I will." She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side letting her cheek rest over his heartbeat.

"You'll be incredible at it, just like you are at everything else."

"I've been thinking about this for years, you know. I knew it would happen one day. Something would open up, and I would get my own department. It would just be the next step. It just feels different than I thought it would. I feel bad leaving Magical Creatures."

Draco shifted to his side, forcing her to roll to hers. He put a finger to her chin and pulled her face up gently to look him in the eyes. "Do you want to be Minister or not?" he asked, his voice deep and serious.

"Yes, I do," she replied, a furious tingle shooting down her spine at the thought.

"Then do it," he told her. "Grab this opportunity and run with it. You're Hermione Granger. Remind the Wizarding world what you're made of." She laughed at him, but his expression remained serious as he gazed into her eyes.

"You're right," she whispered, "I know you are. I want to do it."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for the overwhelming response to the last chapter !**

 **I just wanted to add a note here that I am in the thick of school things right now, so if I miss an update, that is likely the reason. You can add me on tumblr (same username, but with a dash between the h and the 1) and I will post there if I am behind.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter ! I would love to hear your thoughts.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	24. Chapter 24

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: I adore my beta team. They are going to back beta this for you all sometime this week, but I am so behind on writing that I did not have time to give it to them before posting. I apologize for what I assume will be many errors. I hope you love it anyway.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

 **Warning: Late term pregnancy loss, Scenes of a sexual nature, Mild violence**

 **Chapter Twenty Four**

As June slipped into July, Hermione was wrapping up her work in Magical Creatures and preparing to take over her new position. She had been kept busy with meetings with Kraus and her replacement, who had been hired the previous week. She and Draco also worked to firm up plans with their friends for the World Cup in August. Ron had confirmed that he and Lavender would attend as long as the baby hadn't arrived. Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Hannah had also agreed to join them. Draco had invited both Theo and Blaise, as well as their wives, and tried to convince her to have dinner with his friends at some point before the match. Hermione was nervous about this, worried that Daphne might reveal their secret to Pansy before they were ready for the world to know, despite Draco's insistence that she would never do that if Blaise asked her not to. It wasn't easy to trust Draco's friends, which she realized may be unfair on her part, but she hadn't forgotten Blaise and Draco's conversation months ago, and she hadn't forgiven Blaise for his words.

As she had told them she would, Narcissa spoke to Lucius, making him aware of their relationship. Draco insisted that it went fine, but Hermione was not entirely convinced of this. Draco hadn't seen his father since or suggested that she should spend time with him either. She was tempted to push the subject, but at the same time, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.

As she mused about his father, Hermione shifted through the clothes in Draco's closet, her frustration growing as it became more and more evident that she had been wrong. Her blue dress wasn't here, which meant it was probably at her flat, either still needing cleaned from the last time she'd worn it, or hanging in her own closet, which had also been half taken over by his clothes. "I hate this," she muttered to herself as she grabbed another yellow dress, one that she didn't like nearly as much. She was meeting with Cartwright for the first time today, and she would really have rather had the blue one. She would have to stop in at her flat and see if it was clean before she headed for the Floo.

"What?" Draco asked. He was standing at his dresser, closing the buttons on his shirt.

"Never knowing where my clothes are. I was sure that my blue dress was here," she told him, trying not to sound like she was whining.

"I love that dress." He grinned, no doubt remembering one of the times he had taken it off of her.

"So do I," she sighed. "I'll stop over at my place and see if it's there." It would only take a minute if it was indeed where it belonged, but Hermione had found that things were more and more failing to be where they belonged these days. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the nights they stayed at her flat or his. It usually just depended on who made it home from work first.

"I'm signing the final papers on the house this weekend," Draco told her as he slid the knot of his tie up towards his neck.

"That will be a relief. I'm sure." She pulled the zipper down on her dress and moved it over her head.

"I think I'm going to start looking at new homes in the next few weeks."

Hermione stopped moving for a moment, her dress half on her body. "What?" She pulled at the cloth quickly, trying to smooth the dress down as she stared at him. This was the first he had mentioned anything about moving from the building.

"This place was always supposed to be temporary," he explained. "I probably would have already bought something if you weren't here."

"Oh, okay." Hermione tried not to frown, but the idea of him buying a new house was making her mind race, trying to figure out the particulars of how that arrangement would work out.

He moved towards her, his hands reaching out to help smooth down her dress. She leaned into him, the move so natural to her now that she hardly registered it. "Will you come look with me?"

Hermione tried not to overreact, tried not to let her mind jump ten steps ahead, but it was already happening without her bidding it to do so. Her fingers tightened at his sides, and he met her eyes, holding her gaze. "Why?" she asked, not ready to commit to an answer.

"You would always know where your blue dress is." His voice was low as if the soft tone could control the way her heart skipped a beat. She wasn't certain what he meant ... well she was, but there could possibly be a chance that he wasn't asking what she thought he was asking.

"Why would that be?" she asked, lowering her own voice to match his. She wanted to look away, to bury her face in his shoulder and inhale the clean scent of his shirt as she avoided this conversation and the way the answer blossoming somewhere in the bottomless pit that used to be her stomach made her feel.

"I think you know." He smirked at his refusal to say the words.

Hermione pulled in her bottom lip with her teeth, and Draco leaned in to cover her mouth with his. He pulled at that same lip with his own teeth, before pressing his lips hard against hers. Draco moved back from her, his forehead still leaned against hers. "I want to know what bed we are sleeping in every night, and that you will be there when I wake up every morning."

"I'm nearly always out of bed before you," she corrected, buying time. That dangerous answer was inching its way up to her mouth.

"You know what I mean." His arms wrapped around her back, pulling her closer.

"It's fast," she told him.

"It is," he agreed, "but we basically live together already. It will probably be a couple months before we would move in, not before the Cup at least, and we could keep your flat for a while if you want."

Hermione wanted to say yes. It was bubbling inside of her with a ferocity that was terrifying. "You scare me," she admitted, smiling to soften the words.

"I know." He kissed her again, a quick press of his lips against hers.

"It wasn't like this before," she told him. She'd been in love with Ron for ages by the time they had finally kissed. They had known everything there was to know about each other. It had felt like it took them forever to get to this point. "I wasn't even looking for you."

Draco let out one short laugh at that. "I wasn't looking for you either. I promise."

They stood there for a few long moments, him holding her close, the space between them simultaneously too small and too large. "I'll go with you," she finally said. "We'll look together. No promises yet."

"I can live with that."

XXX

Two weeks later, Hermione was already tired of looking at houses, and they had just begun. Mr. Benton had taken them to see three properties already, the smallest of which had six bedrooms. As Hermione shared this information with Ginny, the other woman sipped at her tea while a small smirk hid behind her cup. Hermione could see it, but she had been choosing to ignore it. "Six bedrooms?" she asked.

"That is apparently what he considers small," Hermione complained, running her thumb along her own mug. He had been considerably more interested in the rural home that Hermione was sure must be nearly the size of his parents manor. The grounds had been large enough for a small Quidditch Pitch. Draco had seen this as a pro. She had seen is as ridiculous and unnecessary.

"Maybe you should talk to the realtor? See if you can give him more of an idea what _you_ are thinking?" Ginny set her cup down on the table.

"I did talk to him," Hermione explained, and it was the truth. She had met with Draco and Mr. Benton the week before to talk about what they wanted. The problem seemed to lie somewhere in their very different ideas of what a home should be. Draco was concerned with having room for guests that she wasn't entirely convinced they would ever have, and extravagances that she would never have considered. When he had begun talking to her about the different rooms he would like to have in his - their - the house, she had just stared at him with her mouth open, gaping like an animal. Likewise, his own lips had pursed in a tight lip when she had told him about her own idea of what a home should be like, namely that it shouldn't be so large she felt the need for a search party to locate him in it. She didn't feel that he was being difficult so much as he had no concept of the way most people lived. When she pointed out that he seemed perfectly content in his small flat, he had explained that the flat was never meant to be a home. It was a temporary residence which held only the bare minimum of what he needed to get on with his life while he had figured out what his next step was. "He seems much more concerned with what Draco wants."

"Well, you haven't even said you will move into the place for sure, so that does make a certain amount of sense." Ginny shrugged, that ridiculous smirk sliding into a smug smile.

"We've only been seeing each other for going on five months. It's not … I just feel like we shouldn't be ready for this yet," Hermione admitted. She had considered not confiding in Ginny about the move, but she had decided in the end that she needed to be honest with her. They were about to take their relationship public, so it seemed that the time for secrets was behind them. Also, Ginny and Harry had been so supportive of her that she felt like not telling them would be a betrayal of that support.

"When was the last time you slept alone?" Ginny asked, and Hermione felt her cheeks redden at this. She glanced away from their table to watch the other people in the cafe talking. "That's what I thought," Ginny said after a long, silent pause. "You're happy with him. It's okay to be happy."

"I know that," Hermione told her, taking a moment to pull her cup to her lips and take a drink.

"Then, just stop over thinking for once in your life and dive in." Ginny reached across the table and put her hand over Hermione's to squeeze at her fingers.

Hermione laughed at this, one short release of tension. "I feel like all I've done with Draco is _under_ think everything. It's been madness."

"Maybe that is exactly what you needed," Ginny teased.

"Even so, I'm not living in a house with a ballroom."

Ginny snorted loudly, the idea apparently amusing her. "I wonder how many house elves you would have to employ to keep the place clean."

Hermione frowned, shooting Ginny a warning look. "I'm not hiring any house elves."

"Does he know that?" Ginny raised a brow at her friend.

"He had better!" Hermione couldn't see how Draco would think that she wanted to have any house elves in their employment, but maybe that was too much of an assumption. After all, if they were paid, what would be the issue? She still didn't like the idea of having servants. She wasn't about to let a house elf do her laundry, clean her bathroom, or make her bed in the morning. She was perfectly capable of doing her own chores, and so was Draco. He had been managing just fine while living in his flat.

"You should probably check. I doubt he's planning on cleaning all of those rooms himself." Ginny grabbed a biscuit, bringing it to her mouth to take a bite.

Hermione rested her elbows on the table, letting her face fall into her hands as she sighed. "This whole house situation is going to become a mess."

"Only if you let it. Just talk to him. What if you look for a house that you like without the realtor?" Hermione looked up at her friend, her eyes narrowing as she considered the idea.

"What do you mean?"

"Just you. Look around for something that you like and you think that Draco might agree to." Ginny shrugged. "I can help you look."

"I suppose we could do that," Hermione agreed. It wasn't the worst idea ever. She honestly wasn't sure if Draco would be glad that she was showing interest in the move, or annoyed that she had gone hunting behind his back. Hopefully, it would be the former.

"So, what should we look for?" Ginny asked, seemingly excited about the idea.

XXX

A/N: Reviews were being weird for a few days there and I couldn't reply to them, so I apologize! I appreciate them so much. Thank you for taking the time!

XOXO

Meg


	25. Chapter 25

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: Love these ladies more than life. Thank you oblivion . baby and RooOJoy for your work on this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Five**

Draco had arrived at the field first and finalized the arrangements for their tent. A few hours later, under the guise of a few small cosmetic charms and a hooded cloak, Hermione had joined him. He had frowned at her long black hair and demanded that she "change that right now." Hermione had laughed at him, but obliged, using her wand to return her appearance to its normal state.

"I'm sorry," she told him, but he didn't really believe the apology to be genuine. He had no desire to see her as anything like his ex-wife, particularly right now. They had both been on edge this week, sure that the news would get out early, that something would go wrong, but nothing had. Blaise had told Daphne about Hermione, and the woman had, so far, kept the information to herself as Draco had known that she would. Pansy was her friend, but Blaise was her husband. There was a difference. They had also been waiting for news that Lavender had gone into labor early, and the couple would be unable to attend, but that news never came. Hermione felt a little guilty for wanting the other woman's child to abide by their schedule, but so much of their plan relied on Ron and Lavender being in that box the following day.

Hermione had completed her final day in the Department of Magical Creatures the previous day as well. She was taking a week off for the World Cup, and then she would be returning to work in her new role as head of the Improper Use of Magic Office. She was nervous, still unsure that she had made the right decision, but she was also excited and looking forward to the challenge of a new position.

Mr. Benton had continued to work on finding them a home, but nothing he showed them seemed to be right. He was still leaning towards Draco's idea of what he wanted in a home, and Hermione was beginning to get discouraged. They had begun arguing about idiotic things like whether the master bath was so large it really ought to be in Hogwarts instead of a home, or whether they really needed a dining room capable of feeding a small army. She and Ginny had also looked at several homes without letting Draco know about them, but none of them seemed like anything that Draco would be interested in. Hermione knew they were going to have to find some middle ground to compromise on, but at the moment she wasn't sure that they would ever find it.

Draco was full on ignoring his father now, and Hermione had been unable to avoid the subject any longer. When they had talked about it, he had refused to meet her eye as he admitted that Lucius was having a difficult time accepting their relationship. Hermione had felt something inside of her that she hadn't felt in quite a long time as he held her, promising that he didn't care what his father thought. They had met with Narcissa again once after that for lunch. The three of them had talked about their plans at the World Cup, and Narcissa had seemed to approve, believing that it would be a good way to break the news.

They had met with a reporter from the _Prophet_ the previous weekend. She had come highly recommended by Kingsley. The woman had come to Hermione's flat where the three of them talked for several hours about their relationship, how they had fallen in love after the article about them was published, and their plans for their first public outing together at the World Cup. The reporter and Hermione had also met with Ron briefly for lunch during the week to get his opinion about the turn of events. They had all been mailed a copy of the article she was intending to publish the morning after the World Cup began. Her plan was to have a photographer at the match snap a few images of them in their box during the game. Hermione had shared her copy of the article with Kingsley, and Draco had done the same with his boss. It had been approved all around. They hoped that it would be enough to quell most of the rumors and assumptions that were sure to surface over the coming days.

Draco reached out for her, placing a soft kiss on her mouth. "This time tomorrow, this will all be over."

"Then why does this seem like it is just the beginning?" She sighed against his lips, her mind flipping through all of the obstacles still to come.

"Because you worry too much." His hands slip up her body. As his fingers reached the hem of her blouse, they slipped, just barely, underneath the material to rub circles on her skin. "We've done everything we can."

"I know." Hermione's hands moved up into his hair, burying her fingers there before she kissed him again.

"Draco?" Blaise's voice carried into the tent from the entrance. Draco pulled his hands back, kissing her one last time before she moved away from him.

"Come on in." Draco called.

The door to the tent was pulled aside to allow Daphne and Blaise to walk inside. Hermione tried not to tense at the appearance of the other woman, but she was uneasy about the meeting and couldn't help it. Daphne was tall and elegant. She wore Muggle clothing with ease, making it seem as if her expensive jeans and blouse were her every day garb, which Hermione doubted. Muggle clothing had become more and more popular, but to her knowledge, most pureblood women still preferred their traditional robes. Her blonde hair was pleated into a long braid that fell down her back, and her expression was cool and controlled.

"Daphne." Draco moved forward to greet her, and, for a moment, her eyes flashed ice and fury.

"Don't," she told him, her tone even. "I've not forgiven you for pulling me into this. Pansy is going to be livid with me."

"Just blame Blaise and I. You had no idea who I was bringing," Draco suggested.

"It won't matter," she snapped. "You know that." She passed him, moving towards Hermione. Her eyes moved down Hermione's body as she closed the gap. "What are you doing with him?" Daphne asked, apparently confused by the idea.

"I'm not actually sure," Hermione replied, smiling over at Draco.

Daphne followed her gaze, eyeing Draco with that same icey expression. "He's surely not worth all this fuss."

"Now, Daphne," Blaise cut in, but his mouth turned up at the corner into a smile, removing any doubt that he was genuinely chiding her.

"No, I'm probably not," Draco admitted, "but she is."

Daphne rolled her eyes, moving them back to Hermione. "Malfoys are so dramatic. In that sense, Pansy always fit right in." Hermione tried to think of something to say to that, but she couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't be offensive to this woman's friend. Daphne let the silence stretch on long enough for Hermione to start fumbling at her shirt, smoothing it again. "She never loved him though," the blonde witch said finally, and Hermione watched as a small smile graced her face.

"I'm really sorry that she is going to be upset with you," Hermione replied, trying not to interrupt what seemed to be Daphne tenuously accepting her into their group without explicitly saying so.

"Don't worry about Pansy. She's a bit of a bitch, but aren't we all?" She full on laughed at this, and Hermione just stared at Daphne, unsure of what to say.

"You're scaring her, Daph," Blaise told her as his arm moved around his wife's waist.

"I suppose I should remember my audience," Daphne mused. "Have they warned you about Theo's wife yet?" She raised one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows as her eyes sparkled with something Hermione didn't quite understand.

"No," Draco answered, "I haven't."

Daphne let a short laugh. "She's the one you should worry about. That cow … Why Theo chose her of all the women. His father was in prison, and his mother was dead, but he still let his Aunt convince him to marry Elise."

"No one likes her," Blaise told Hermione, "not even Theo, so feel no obligation to get along with her." Hermione looked to Draco, wondering why he hadn't shared this with her.

"I was going to let you come to your own opinions about her," Draco answered her unasked question. "You might like her."

"No. You really won't," Daphne insisted as she patted Hermione's hand.

"Mate, are you making food, or what?" Blaise asked, changing the subject.

Draco moved towards one of the doors, presumably into the kitchen. "I'll get on it," he promised. "Help yourselves to some wine." He motioned over to a bottle surrounded by glasses.

Hermione turned to follow him, not comfortable enough to stay behind with Blaise and Daphne. "I'll help."

Once they were safely behind the closed kitchen door, she let out a long steady breath. "She's interesting," she said softly.

"I think she might actually like you," Draco said, amused by the very idea. He reached into a cupboard above their heads for a pot.

Hermione bit her lips, thinking over the conversation again as she watched him start the water for pasta. His wand had it boiling in moments. "Is Theo's wife really that terrible?"

"Everyone hates her," Draco admitted. "If she actually shows up tomorrow ,I will be amazed."

"They aren't staying the night?" Hermione asked, surprised. Everyone always stayed on the grounds at these things. It was part of the experience, or something.

"Theo will. He's been here working for the past week. He might come by if he has time. Elise won't stay in a tent, not matter how nice it may be. She'll come for the match if she feels like it and probably leave early." Draco shrugged as if this didn't matter to him either way.

"And, Theo is okay with that?" she asked as she pulled a baguette from another cupboard.

"They have an arrangement. He doesn't make her go to his things, and she doesn't make him go to hers," Draco explained. _An arrangement._ It sounded horrible. She had bowed out of her fair share of Quidditch games over the years, but she had always attended the big ones with their friends and family.

"Blaise said Theo doesn't even like her," Hermione said, disbelieving. The idea of marrying someone you weren't in love with still seemed so odd to her.

"He doesn't. He loves her I think, somewhere, somehow, but they don't like each other very much. It's complicated." Draco stopped talking, but Hermione set her knife down next to the bread and stared at him, demanding more. "Theo isn't like most people. I was raised the way I was, but my parents loved me. In the end, everything they did was for me. My mother lied to the Dark Lord for me. Theo..." he trailed off, presumably thinking hard about what the next words should be, how to make her understand. "His mother died when we were young. We weren't close, but we were always together because of our fathers. I don't know exactly what happened to her, but I overheard my mother asking my father if Theo's father had something to do with it."

"Theo can see Thestrals," Hermione recalled as if from another life.

"Yes, he can," Draco agreed. "Well, we all can now, but he could before the rest of us."

"I see," she told him, wondering what on earth Theo had witnessed all those years ago.

"She was all right. Probably not mother of the year or anything, but she was decent to him. His father was a bastard. Theo never talked much about that either, but sometimes you don't have to." Draco stirred the pasta as he stared down at the pot. "Snape would always call Theo down to his office the first night of the year. It took me four years to realize why." His hand gripped the counter, and Hermione moved behind him to kiss his shoulder as her arms wrapped around his waist. "I walked in on him changing his robes that year. He was covered in marks."

"That's horrible," Hermione breathed against his back, wishing there was something more she could say.

"He'd kill me if he knew I was telling you this." His voice was heavy with emotion.

"I won't say anything," she promised.

"Anyway, he never really had a great example of what a marriage, or love should look like. When his aunt suggested he marry Elise, he just did it, and they do their best. I think they do love each other in their own messed up way." Draco shrugged, as if this could push away the somber mood that had settled over them both. "I wish we had been closer, that I could have done something."

"You were a child. What could you have done?" Hermione asked. They could both get lost down this road very easily, but she couldn't let that happen. Regret would eat at them and pull her back to that place she had been when he had found her.

"Nothing, I suppose," he sighed, but she could tell that he didn't really believe his words. Somewhere in his mind, he had convinced himself that he was somehow at fault for this wrong as well.

"He knows that he has you now." She pulled him back from the stove, forcing him to face her. He looked down into her eyes, and she reached up to cup his face in her hand. "I love you, Draco," she told him. "You are a good man."

He closed his eyes and let his body lean against hers for support. "I love you, too," he whispered.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading ! I appreciate you so much. I hope that you are still enjoying this story. We are 25 chapters in, which is kind of amazing to me.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	26. Chapter 26

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: This is another "I'm so sorry, I'm late," chapter, and has not been through my team. Forgive me.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Six**

The morning of the World Cup, Hermione woke beside Draco as she did every morning now. They prepared for the match in a tense silence, both nervous about what today would mean for their future. Draco made breakfast while Hermione put up her hair, and they ate sparingly, both fighting off nerves as they read the Prophet. This was likely the last day for a while that their pictures and story wouldn't be in it.

Before they left the tent, Draco leaned forward to kiss Hermione's forehead softly. She tried to think of something to say, but words failed her. Instead, she gripped his hand, refusing to let go as he led her out of the tent and towards the stadium. Hermione was surprised by the minimal attention their walk had drawn. This day had been built up so much in her mind that is was strange to think their walk would not incite more than a few open stares and murmured whispers from the other tent dwellers. Draco offered to purchase Hermione a pair of omnioculars, and she surprised him with the information that she already had a pair in her purse that Harry had bought for her years ago. She imagined they weren't as fancy as whatever they could do now, but considering she wasn't overly invested in the game, it certainly wasn't worth 13 Galleons for a new pair.

Once they were up the stairs and safely alone inside the box Draco had reserved, Hermione sat in one of the seats, her stomach too queasy from nerves to join Draco at the edge. He clutched the railing as he watched the stadium slowly fill. She closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze that blew across her face. She tried not to think about the fact that somewhere in the stadium a photographer was probably already watching them, his goal to take photos of them with their friends throughout the day to go along with the story that was about to be printed about them. Her stomach turned.

Harry and Ginny arrived then. Hermione moved from her seat to hug them each. Harry wrapped her in his arms tightly and asked, "You okay?" as he held her.

"I think we'll both be glad when this is over," she replied.

"Very glad," Draco confirmed.

"Ron and Lavender were over at our tent last night," Ginny told them. "I think they might be just as nervous as the two of you."

"We appreciate their help." Draco took a seat beside Hermione.

"They know that," Harry said. "I think they both just want this to blow over quickly for you."

"Where is the fun in that?" Blaise asked as he entered the box. Daphne followed shortly behind him.

"The fun is that that we don't spend the next several years being vilified," Draco replied, frowning at his friend.

"You play such a good villain though, Draco." Daphne grinned, and Draco threw her a look which Hermione was learning he seemed to reserve just for Daphne.

"I like you," Ginny said, holding out a hand to the other woman. "Ginny Potter. It's been a while."

"Daphne Zabini. I'm not sure we ever actually met at school." Daphne took the other woman's hand, shaking it softly. "Do you also enjoy terrorizing Draco?"

"Oh, yes." Ginny laughed. "Though I've been trying to make an effort lately for Hermione's sake."

"The poor dear." Daphne shook her head, grinning over at Hermione who smiled back. She was growing to like Blaise's wife considerably more than she had ever liked him. It was a pleasant surprise. She was actually hoping that after Pansy found out about all this, Daphne would still be okay with spending time with her and Draco. She wanted his friends to more than just accept her.

"Yes, we all know I'm the lucky one," Draco said, his hand moving to grasp Hermione's. She laced their fingers together, equally excited and worried about what it meant that she could do that in front of these people.

"Everyone's getting along then?" Neville asked as he stepped into the box with Hannah.

"Apparently," Harry told him, moving over to greet the pair.

"I'm reserving judgement on that until Weasel gets here. I'll believe he and Draco capable of acting decent to each other when I see it." Blaise laughed loudly, and Hermione and Draco both scowled at him.

"He's doing us a favor," Hermione said, glaring at him. She would ruin him if he caused problems between her ex-husband and her boyfriend today.

"You had better be nice," Daphne added, squeezing his forearm in her fingers. Hermione's glare became a smile at this move.

"I wasn't going to do anything," he insisted as he pulled his arm away, rubbing gently where she had injured him.

Hermione followed Ginny over to the seats, and Daphne took the seat in front of them. Hermione waved Hannah over, and Draco leaned in to kiss Hermione on the cheek. To their credit, none of their friends brought attention to the gesture, though Hermione had felt their eyes as his lips had touched her. Afterwards, Draco moved towards Neville, Harry, and Blaise who were gathering at the small bar near the back of the box. Hermione tried not to think about the amount of work the elves that were no doubt helping run this feature would have today. She had enough to worry about. Instead, she turned to the women sitting with her. "Daphne, this is Hannah Longbottom," Hermione told her. "She was in …"

"Hufflepuff," Daphne finished. "I volunteer at St. Mungo's. Hannah studied there before Madame Pomfrey scooped her up."

Hannah smiled warmly at Daphne. "How have you been?"

"Really good. How is being at Hogwarts?" Daphne asked.

"Wonderful. Neville and I actually see each other occasionally now," Hannah told her. "We're worse than the students sometimes. Professor McGonagall walked in on us snogging in one of the Greenhouses the other day, and I nearly died on the spot." She turned pink as the rest of them laughed at this.

"I had no idea," Hermione admitted, looking from one woman to the other.

"Me either," Ginny confessed, also clearly surprised by this easy interaction.

"Are you okay?" Hermione turned at the sound of Ron's voice to see him holding Lavender's hand in his as he steadied her. Hermione moved out of her seat quickly towards them. Lavender's skin was flushed and small strands of her hair stuck to her face.

"Lavender, did you take the stairs? They have accomod…"

"Nonsense," Lavender cut in. "I'm fine." Her voice was bright and happy, as she waved Hermione's concerns away.

"Come sit with us," Hermione told her, taking her other hand. Ron followed closely behind the pair and watched Lavender closely until she took her seat. As Lavender let out a sigh of relief, Draco appeared behind them. He was holding a glass from the bar in the back of the box.

"Pumpkin juice?" he asked, holding it out to the flushed woman.

"Merlin, yes." Lavender laughed as she took the drink from him before sipping the cool liquid slowly.

"You're mad, Lavender," Hannah told her. "That baby is about to fall out at any second, and you are stomping up all those stairs."

"I'm really fine," Lavender said again, but Hermione saw Ron's lips tighten. She wasn't surprised. The thought of Lavender climbing all the way up made her sick.

"Draco will make sure she gets a lift down," she told him quietly. Ron nodded in appreciation as Draco silently agreed with a curt nod of his head.

"Come on, Weasley," he said, "Potter and Zabini are trying to out do each other with ludicrous predictions of how the match will go." Before Draco led Ron away, Draco's hand touched Hermione's for the briefest of moments. She let herself wonder for a moment at the oddity that was her boyfriend and her ex-husband heading over to discuss Quidditch with her best friends. Her life had gone completely off any sort of path she had ever expected. This moment of Ron laughing at something Draco was muttering under his breath as the pair walked away was perhaps the most perfect moment she could think of to describe just how ridiculous it all seemed to her. At the same time, it felt right. Ron was happy and so was she. It had taken them a lot of pain to get to this moment, but they were here, and she was incredibly grateful.

"Hermione." Someone touched her shoulder, and she turned back to the women, this odd grouping of beautiful women here to help her and Draco. Who ever would have thought that Daphne Zabini, Hannah Longbottom, Ginny Potter, and Lavender Brown, likely one day soon Weasley, would be here surrounding her on one of the most nerve wracking days of her life. She'd never had many girl friends. She'd never had many friends, honestly. When she walked away from her marriage, she had wondered if she would ever have any close friends outside of Harry and Ginny again, but here in this box, this felt right. These women felt right. She moved around to take a seat beside Lavender. Hannah and Daphne had struck up a conversation with her about her delivery plans. Hermione tried to ignore the pangs of jealousy shooting through her. It was natural for them to ask.

"Gin," Harry called about five minutes later, just as Hermione was beginning to lose her forced smile, "You want in on this?" he asked, making it clear that their jibes had turned to actual bets. Hermione turned to Ginny, anything to avoid the conversation she was seated beside. She had added a few comments to show that it was fine, that she was fine, but she was reaching her limit, and feeling like it wouldn't really be fair to just get up and walk away from them.

"No, I've told you what I think. You better have listened," she said with mock sternness.

"I have. Don't worry," he told her and turned back to say something to Neville.

"He won't have listened," Ginny told Hermione. "He still has a soft spot for Oliver. He'll bet on him for the win, and they'll lose." The red haired woman sighed as she shook her head sadly.

"Is Oliver on one of the teams?" Hermione asked, honestly surprised by this. She had no idea Oliver was still playing professionally.

Ginny burst into laughter, her smile lighting up her face. "Oh, Hermione. I love how clueless you are about Quidditch so much." She chuckled again for a few moments. "Oliver is one of the coaches for the French team. He is very good at it, but his team isn't as put together as Egypt right now."

"Oliver Wood?" Daphne asked, shifting her attention to the pair.

"Yes," Ginny confirmed.

"I was crazy about him in third year," Daphne sighed. "I was sure I was going to marry him. He was a half blood, so it would have been deliciously scandalous." She laughed, and the others joined in.

"I think we were all sure we were going to marry him," Hannah agreed, still giggling like a little girl at the idea.

"Not Hermione. She had a thing for professors," Ginny told them, waggling her eyebrows, and Hermione looked at her horrified.

"Ginny! I did not," she protested, albeit weakly.

"You did too! You were looney for Lockhart and Lupin!" Ginny said.

"You totally were," Lavender confirmed, stifling her own laughter.

"I respected Professor Lupin!" Hermione defended even though she knew her cheeks were tinged pink. When this just made the women laugh harder, Hermione huffed out a breath and declared, "at least I didn't send either of them a singing dwarf."

"Oh, I was awful!" Ginny cackled as she remembered the horrifying event.

"What are you lot talking about?" Ron asked, as the men moved towards them, claiming seats.

"My valentine to Harry," Ginny told him honestly.

Ron began to laugh loudly at this, and even Neville chuckled a bit. "And, yet, he married you," Ron jibed.

"Yes, well, he has exquisite taste," Ginny countered.

"He's bet on France for the cup," Ron told her, as if this explained everything about Harry's taste.

"Harrrry," Ginny groaned. Harry turned a bit red as he blushed.

"Oliver has put together a good offense. I think they really have a shot."

"No chance," Draco told him as they all moved into chairs. "They aren't ready for the cup."

"Thank you!" Ginny said, waving her hand at Draco as if to ask Harry why he couldn't have more sense.

Behind them, from the entrance, came the sound of someone clearing their throat in one single, abrupt motion. Draco spun in his seat, as did the rest of the group, and they took in the sight of Lucius Malfoy, standing alone in his robes. Draco stood quickly, moving to greet his father.

Hermione couldn't hear him as he spoke in low tones for a few short moments before he turned to her. "Hermione, can you come here a moment?" Hermione felt her heart in her throat as she moved past her suddenly silent friends and toward the entry. Lucius watched her carefully, his eyes never leaving her. When she reached him, his hand moved out to shake hers. She took it gently, unsure of so many things in this moment. Behind her, she heard her friends begin to speak again, in soft tones. She appreciated their effort to make it look like they weren't going to be spying on the entire interaction.

"Ms. Granger, it is a pleasure to meet you, again," he said, his voice remarkably different than she had ever heard it before. She had never heard Lucius speak without the hidden layer of condescension. It was clear that he was trying, and she wondered if someone, likely Narcissa or Draco, had demanded that he be kind.

"Yes, and you. I've been looking forward to it." She felt Draco's arm move protectively around her waist as she spoke. His hand rested at her hip. She watched Lucius' eyes travel to the spot and then back up to her face.

"We will have to get together sometime, the four of us," he told them as he looked between her and Draco.

"Is Mrs. Malfoy here?" Hermione asked, curious.

"My mother doesn't like Quidditch very much," Draco answered for his father, a small smile at the corner of his lips.

"I believe her general feeling is that it is a waste of time," Lucius added.

"Well, we have that in common," Hermione said, trying to force a laugh.

Lucius stared at her with an expression she was unsure of. "Yes, well, I will ask her to set something up with both of you. Surely, you can make time for your parents, Draco." Draco tensed beside her, his finger digging just slightly into her hip.

"Yes, Father. Of course. I will speak with Mother about it. Enjoy the match." Draco's voice was even, extremely controlled.

"I should get back to Hyperion. Enjoy your … plans," Lucius told them, looking beyond them into the room at their mix of friends. "I will see you soon," and he turned away, moving back to the steps.

Hermione waited for him to be out of sight before she relaxed, her body leaning against Draco. He pulled her closer as he moved to face her. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea he would be here. He hasn't been to a match in ages."

"It's fine. He's your father. You don't have to apologize." She'd known that she would meet him, that is was inevitable, but she hadn't been expecting it today.

"Yes, but, well, he's my father," Draco told her as if this explained something, which she supposed it did. His father was the last person, beside Pansy maybe, to want them together, but he had walked up those stairs to greet them, her, and that was something.

Hermione leaned in, her hand moving to his shoulder, pulling him closer to her as her lips met his. While his arms moved around her back, she kissed him softly. He pulled back with a sigh, no doubt conscious of the room full of people behind them. "He came though. He didn't have to. That's good," she said.

"That's true." Draco smiled down at her and kissed her again quickly. "Thank you." He moved back, his hand finding hers in the same moment. They turned back to their friends to find each and every one of them quickly looking away.

The match lasted all of the day and into the night. The ten of them ate lunch and dinner as they watched. Hermione lost interest in the game early on, but Lavender, Hannah, and Daphne weren't much more invested than her, and the rest of the group took breaks from watching to talk with them. It was surprisingly easy to fall into a groove of conversation. She listened to stories about the hospital, fielded questions about Draco, listened to Lavender explain her shop to Daphne and the others tease Harry mercilessly as his team fell behind quickly. Egypt seemed to be pulling ahead at a drastic rate, but Draco told her that the snitch was proving to be particularly elusive.

Sometime in the afternoon, around the time Theo showed up and starting roaring loudly about how many idiots he was having to deal with today, France started to pull back, seemingly having pulled their "heads out of their arses," as Ron put it. Harry had pointed out Oliver to her on her Omnioculars and then asked her why in the world she hadn't invested in a new set yet. "These are ancient," he insisted, and she just rolled her eyes at him. This was perhaps the fourth time she'd ever used the stupid things.

Hermione had managed to forget that their was a man out there taking their picture, sort of. She was at least able to push it to the back of her mind and let herself enjoy the day. It was such a relief to be able to reach for Draco's hand, to feel his body behind hers, his hands on her waist, or to just be near him, talking to him, hiding nothing. It was such a change from the hiding, the nerves, the worry. There was nothing left to hide. Everyone in this box knew about the, and, tomorrow, everyone outside of it would know too.

When the French seeker had lain down straight as an arrow on his broom, zooming across the stadium towards the invisible speck of gold, Hermione found herself getting lost in the excitement of the moment. They had been watching the match for hours and it was about to end. The Egyptian seeker seemed to only take half a second to realize what was happening, but it was half a second too long. As the seeker wrapped her fingers around the snitch in her Omnioculars, Hermione heard Harry loud out a loud cheer that was swallowed within moments by the roar of the stadium.

"No fucking way," Ginny said beside her, laughing loudly at the ridiculous turn of events. France had come back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to win the World Cup by 10 points. In the following giddiness, Draco had pulled her to him, kissing her deeply, one hand in her hair and another at her waist.

When they made it back to the tent an hour later, Draco had pulled at her jumper as he kissed Hermione hard, his fingers deftly removing both layers of clothing from her upper half. She had responded with fervor, pulling at his belt frantically. She didn't even care about Quidditch, but it was impossible to escape the World Cup without feeling high on the adrenaline of the game. As his fingers fumbled with her bra, Hermione pushed down his trousers and pants. He stepped out of them as they moved towards the bedroom. They continued to pull at clothes, both stripped by the time he tossed her onto the bed.

Draco moved over her quickly, barely reaching between her legs to make sure she was ready for him, and then he was inside of her, filling her deeply as she dug her fingers into his back and rocked her hips up to meet him. She moaned his name loudly, lost in the sensation of his body against hers. His mouth trailed heavy kisses down her neck to her shoulder, where he sucked and bit, surely leaving red marks across her skin.

She pushed against his chest, and he pulled her to him before rolling to his back. Hermione pressed up on his chest with a smile, enjoying the chance to torture him with a slow, teasing pace. His hands moved up her body, pebbled a nipple between his finger and thumb. She moaned softly when he trailed a finger down her stomach to her clit, rubbing small deliriously slow circles against her to match her pace. She quickened and so did he, smirking up at her.

"You are a git," she breathed.

"You love me," he replied, his own voice heavy with exertion.

"Yes, I do," she moaned, closing her eyes as her pleasure washed over her, rippling from their combined bodies out to her fingers and toes. As she came back down, Draco pulled her down to him, kissing her again, his tongue tasting her mouth with dedication. They turned again, and he continued to kiss her as he thrust inside of her, each move sending delicious surges of pleasure through her sensitive body.

His lips moved to her ear, his breath hot against her skin as he spoke. "Tomorrow … I'm going to take you out for lunch … and I'm going to snog the shit out of you. I don't give a fuck who sees us." He spilled into her, his body shivering as she clung to him.

"You're so dramatic," she laughed, enjoying the weight of him against her.

He kissed her again, slowly. "Do you want a shower?" he asked. "I feel like I could be dramatic some more here shortly.

"Hmmm…" she pretended to consider, and he ran his fingers across her side, tickling her. She pushed his hand away. "I'm kidding, kidding! Give me a minute. Then we can go shower, which is ridiculous. Tents should not have showers."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her at this. "Why not?"

Hermione just shook her head, not wanting to get into what exactly it was like to camp as a Muggle. "Nothing. Come on." She pulled at his hand as she moved out of the bed. He followed quickly behind her, easily losing interest in the question.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope that you enjoy! I apologize for my crap updating schedule and lack of review replies. School is super intense at the moment, but I love you all SO SO SO SO much that I can't even put words to the way I feel about you.**

 **So, Thank you, thank you, thank you. I think you are AMAZING.**

 **Hopefully this being longer than normally and having a little lemonyness there at the end helps.**

 **XOXO**

 **Meg**


	27. Chapter 27

**Story: Starting Over**

 **Synopsis: Hermione and Ron's marriage fails after the loss of their first child. Several months later she is given the chance to try and start over. Will she take it? Can a new love mend the pain of an old one, or are their some scars that never heal.**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Draco/Hermione**

 **Beta Love: Thank you oblivionbaby for working your magic on this final chapter. You are amazing.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story. Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty Seven

"What do you think," Hermione asked, biting her lip as she looked across the table at Harry. He had brought four copies of the _Prophet_ to her and Draco's tent that morning, and the two couples sat down to read in silence.

"It's good," Harry told her.

"It's not too much?" she asked, letting her eyes move down to the photos spread across the two pages that held their story. There were several photos of the group, one of Ron and Draco near each other laughing, Hermione and the girls talking, smiles on their faces as they spoke, but the largest image was a repeated loop of Draco pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply after France had caught the snitch. The article started with a recap of the one Rita had published months ago, followed by the story they had told of falling in love after being reunited by the article and living near each other. There was some of Ron's bit about how happy he was for them and the impending arrival of his child, and then the news of her promotion to the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office. It spun their love story in a way that made Hermione feel like she looked a bit lovesick, but she supposed that was better than being a cheating homewrecker.

"Of course it is," Draco said, looking up from his own copy. "Which is what it needs to be."

"I agree," Ginny piped in, cradling her tea before her. "It's got to look like you two had no choice but to fall for one another. The pictures are good. That kiss." She winked at them, and Hermione felt her cheeks tinge. She was very glad her parents would not be getting a copy of the _Prophet_.

"Hopefully, I'll do something important in Misuse that will make me look like a bit less of an airhead," Hermione told them as she closed her copy of the _s_ and pushed it away.

"No one who spends ten seconds around you would call you an airhead," Harry told her.

"You're going to have the Minister's endorsement. Everyone knows your name. We have years to get past you being dumb enough to fall for me. It's going to be fine." Draco smirked at her, and she couldn't help but laugh back at him.

"So true. They will all forgive your weakness," Harry told her, closing his own copy as Draco faked a glare in his direction. "So, you going to lay low for a while then?"

"No," Draco said. "We're going to try and get the staring and gawking over as quickly as possible." They had decided this was the best path to take to make it look as if they had nothing to hide or be ashamed of. They would go out shopping together, have meals in restaurants, and had plans to attend three separate Ministry functions as a couple in the coming months.

"Harry and I made an appointment for you both to look at a house tonight," Ginny told them cheerily.

"What?" Hermione asked, her head snapping to her friend. "We could have still been at the match. The cup goes on for days sometimes."

"Oh, stop it." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Like you were going to spend more than one day watching a Quidditch match. I'm surprised you made it to the end of that one. I'm proud of you."

"I've given up on finding a house," Draco informed the Potters. "We're never going to agree. We will live in those two tiny flats for the rest of our lives."

"If you would just give up on having room for an entire Quidditch team to come visit, we would be able to find something." Hermione gave him a pointed stare, but he seemed entirely unaffected.

"A quarter of my books wouldn't fit in the places you've liked, and I'm fairly certain I have about a third of the number you probably have stashed away somewhere," Draco countered. Hermione tried not to think of her Gringotts vault, which may or may not be holding the majority of her library, and just continued to glare at him as if she was entirely unaffected by his words.

"We're never moving," Harry told Ginny.

"It's a friend of ours. Her father is moving in with her, and they need to sell his home. They haven't listed it yet. Harry will take you tonight," Ginny said with a tone of finality.

XXX

Harry apparated with Draco and Hermione that night, landing them all in front of a stone covered home. It was smaller than Draco would have preferred, but larger than anything Hermione had wanted to this point, so he supposed that was acceptable. He glanced towards her to find her staring hesitantly at the home. Draco turned, taking in the scenery around them. It was bare of any signs of habitation outside of the house.

"There isn't really anyone else around. A house or two you can't see, but they won't bother you," Harry told them. "Do you want to go in?"

"Might as well," Hermione said. As Harry led the way down the path, Draco took Hermione's hand. He was so beyond tired of looking at homes. He just wanted to be done with this and have all of their things in one place. He could no longer handle living out of two flats while having to hunt down missing items. It was unbearable.

When they reached the front door, it opened to reveal a pretty young woman with her dark hair tied back. She was wearing jeans and a loose t-shirt. Her face was flushed from exertion, but her smile was wide. "Harry," she cried cheerily as she engulfed the man in her arms.

Draco stared, his mouth gaping. Someone, likely Hermione, thrust their elbow into his side. He stammered over something that was supposed to be a greeting while the girl clearly attempted not to laugh at him.

"He likes Quidditch, huh?" the woman asked, reaching for Hermione's hand, which she shook firmly. "Wilda Griffiths."

"Yes. I'm sorry. I'm not a huge fan though," Hermione apologized.

"I actually prefer it that way," Wilda told her with a shrug. "Reminds me I'm human."

"Your … Your family is a - " Draco round on Harry then. "A family friend?"

Harry shrugged, flushing. "Well, she is. She played with Gin."

"How is she doing with this one?" Wilda asked. "She gonna come back to torture us soon? Gwenog would take her on as a coach, surely. That woman can fly." The note of amazement in her own voice seemed to finally make Draco aware of the fact that she was human.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Griffiths, I was just surprised."

"Wilda," she told him, waving her hand at him. "Come on in. We're packing everything up right now, but this house is really lovely. I hope you both love it. I would really like it to go to someone that needs a bit of an escape."

Wilda Griffiths wanted him to buy her father's house. Griffiths was the descendant of many professional Quidditch players, but his favorite of her line was Glynnis who was famous for ending a seven day match against the Heidelberg Harriers by catching the snitch. He never would have admitted it to his father, but that witch had been his idol all those years ago. Seven days of Quidditch, and she took the fewest breaks on either side. It had been pouring rain and pitch black when she finally wrapped her fingers around that elusive golden ball that had been the bane of his childhood in many ways. "This is it," Draco whispered under his breath to Hermione.

She looked at him like he was crazy, but she would see; this was a Griffiths home.

XXX

The day Hermione began her new position as head of the Improper Use of Magic office, Lavender Brown delivered a perfectly healthy baby boy. Hermione learned of his arrival that evening at dinner with the Potters and Draco. Hermione hadn't been sure what she would feel when the news came, so she was surprised at the wave of relief that engulfed her. Ron's child, a boy who would be showered in love, was healthy, safe, and alive. She had allowed herself a minute with her eyes closed and her breathing slow and steady, acknowledging the tension that had crept into her heart all those months ago when she had learned that Lavender was pregnant and releasing it into the world.

They celebrated the birth, Hermione's first day, and the fact that Draco and Hermione had finally settled on the Griffiths house with wine, food, and laughter. James and Albus coerced Draco into playing a game of some sort that involved running in circles and giggling wildly, and Hermione had sat firmly on the couch to watch them have at it. At bed time, Harry scooped Albus up, and James had turned his irresistible sweetness on Draco to ask him to read Babbity Rabbity.

"You don't want me to read it?" Hermione teased him, feigning a sad frown. James had just giggled again and looked expectantly at Draco whose eyes were wide.

"I, er, I guess?" he said, more to Ginny than the boy who was doing the asking.

"Of course," Ginny told him. James cheered, racing over to the stairs to stomp hard on each one as he made his way to his room. Ginny nearly snorted at the expression on Draco's face. "It's a good thing, Malfoy. My children like you. Go with it."

"You had better get the voices right!" Hermione called after him as he turned to follow James.

"I don't do voices," Draco said firmly.

"You do now," Ginny informed him, doing her best to control her laughter.

Hermione had resisted the temptation to get up right away and follow them, instead, she forced herself to fall back into conversation with Ginny instead. She wasn't entirely convinced Draco could handle bedtime James, but Harry would be just around the corner if he needed to step in. After twenty minutes, Ginny moved off the couch to go get a glass of water, and Hermione took the opportunity to go check on the book reading.

She found Harry standing in the hallway, his arms folded across his chest as he gazed into his son's room. At her approach, he raised a finger to his lips. She quietly closed the distance between them and took in the sight of her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy, softly reading Babbity Rabbity. His voice was low and soothing. As he read, James' eyes drooped slowly shut and then popped open and began to close again.

"Can you believe this?" Harry whispered. "Malfoy is reading my kid a bedtime story."

"It's still all a bit crazy," Hermione agreed as she leaned her head onto his shoulder. Harry's arm moved around her back, pulling her in as they watched the display in silent amazement.

That night, when they Flooed home to their building, Draco had seemed suddenly on edge, prepared for the worst, surely anticipating that the news of Ron's son could be upsetting, but it never came. Hermione had grabbed his hand in hers, leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth, and told him, "I'm okay. Promise." He had sighed in relief and returned the kiss.

They had moved up the stairs, talking about Hermione's day as they made their way to his flat. Once inside, they walked back into the bedroom and fell into their nightly routine. Hermione stripped off the day's clothes and began to rub lotion into her skin. On his way to the bathroom, Draco dropped a kiss on her shoulder, sending shivers down her spine. By the time she was ready for bed, he had been reading for nearly twenty minutes. Hermione set her wand on the bedside table and crawled under the covers, moving over to him. Draco kissed her head as his arm wrapped around her shoulders, but continued to read.

"Draco?" Hermione asked, staring at the bedroom door.

"Hm?" he answered, his eyes still on the words before him.

"We're buying a house together," she told him, her voice trembling just the slightest at this. Draco shut the book.

"Yes. We are," he agreed. Even if it hadn't belonged to the Griffiths, the house was perfect. There were four bedrooms upstairs, one for them, an office each, and a guest room. The kitchen was large with plenty of room for entertaining their family or friends, and the seclusion allowed for a scaled down Quidditch pitch which Wilda had happily shown off to them. It would be at least a few weeks before anything could be settled, but they were buying a house.

Hermione's fingers moved across the soft expanse of the blanket to wrap themselves in his. "Do you want children?" she asked.

"I thought we weren't talking about that," Draco told her.

"I think it might be time," Hermione moved, shifting her body to face him, not letting go of his hand. There was a furrow of concern on his brow. Her heart beat wildly. She couldn't get the image of him reading Babbity Rabbity while James fell asleep out of her head. Even with his tone soft and low, he'd done voices.

"I … I don't know," he told her, his eyes traveling down to their hands.

"If I was anyone else, if you were buying a home with some other woman who you felt this way about, would you be thinking about it?" she asked, sure she knew the answer.

"That isn't fair. I'm not with anyone else. I'm with you," he was clearly frustrated, trying to end the conversation.

"I know," she said simply, and they sat there. Silence filled the air between them, thick and heavy.

When it was nearly unbearable, and Hermione was regretting bringing it up at all, Draco sighed, and opened his mouth. "I … Fuck." He ran a hand over his face. "Do I really have to say it?"

"Yes," she croaked.

"Then fine. I think about it. All the time. Before I was with you, it was just kind of something I always assumed would happen because it was what was expected, but for the first time, I want a baby, because I want a baby with _you_." His eyes bored into hers. "I … I know that's shit, and I shouldn't, but I just think about what our kid would be like, and I know you would be an incredible mother, and I think, maybe, just possibly, I could be a better Dad than …" he trailed off, and he started coughing, clearing his throat.

Hermione sat silent, her mind running over his words as she watched him struggle to control his emotions. Her own ability to speak seemed long gone. She couldn't even find words to describe what she was feeling to herself, let alone respond to him. Her fingers tightened. They had to be hurting him, but he didn't seem to care.

After a long pause, Draco looked back to her. "If I'm laying it all out there, I'm ready for anything with you, Hermione. I've known that I want to marry you for months, and that's insane, and I keep telling myself that something is going to happen. That this is too easy and fast, but, fuck, maybe that's the point. Maybe it being this easy to fall in love with you means that it's right."

"You … I …" Hermione reeled, her mind was torn on which admission to focus on. He wanted a baby, but he wanted to _marry_ her. "Marry?" she asked, unable to be more coherent.

"Marry," he repeated.

"I … people would think we are crazy." Hermione insisted. The response had been better than either of them could have hoped for. There were some stirrings that the whole thing was a publicity stunt, orchestrated to make them look better after having an affair. Some people even went as far as to suggest that they were paying Ron and Lavender to lie for them, but mostly it was good. People were staring every time they left their building, but it seemed more out of interest than any malicious intent. That was for dating though. What if they were engaged? What if they were married? Did she want to be married again?

"Who cares? They think we are crazy anyway. The people that matter know the truth." His thumb rubbed gentle circles on the side of her hand.

"Just to be clear," she asked, her throat dry, "are you asking?"

"Yes," he said simply. "I am." He looked nearly as surprised as her, but his voice was steady and sure.

"Draco, seeing you with James, with both of them, it isn't that I don't want to; I do, I'm just scared, and I don't know if that will ever change. I wish I could say that one day, I will be ready, and we can have a family, but I don't know." The idea of keeping him from that, from being that to his own children tore at her, clenching her heart in a vice.

"I don't care," he said, and she opened her mouth to protest. Draco held up a hand to stop her. "I mean … that isn't really right. I care. I would love that, but if it doesn't happen … you and me ... this is enough." She tried to think of something else, some reason that she couldn't do that, that she didn't want this, but there was nothing. Nothing but the way that falling in love with him had transformed her into a new version of herself, not quite the old Hermione, but someone who was happy and able to find joy and purpose in her life again, even in the suffocating moments, a new, stronger version of who she used to be.

"Yes," she whispered. "Yes," she said again, louder this time. She barely had time to process his reaction before his mouth was on hers, pulling her closer. She wrapped her arms around him, and Draco lowered her to the bed, kissing her as he moved.

"I love you," he murmured against her skin as his mouth moved down her jaw to her neck.

"I love you," she responded. The absolute joy racing through her body was electric, and it bubbled out of her in a spurts of laughter as he pushed her shirt up and off her arms.

"I promise I will get you a ring tomorrow, as soon as the damn shops open. I wasn't really expecting, even if, that you said yes, I can't …" He was rambling, and Hermione bit at her smile, trying to control her own emotions. "I just don't want you to think I haven't thought this through. I swear if I thought you would have, I would have asked ages ago."

Hermione laughed again, pulling his mouth back to hers. "I don't care about the ring, Draco," she whispered quickly against his lips, "just you."

"I'm never letting you go," he replied, and she knew it was true. He knew every facet of her brokenness, and he was still in. He had made that dedication clear from the very beginning and proven it to her time and time again.

The End

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A/N: This is the end, but I will doing some edits on it, going back to add in things my beta team have found that I have not and doing some cleaning, but this is the story. I hope that you feel I did it justice. I would love to hear your thoughts, but more than that, I just want to thank each and every one of you. This story has experienced so much love. It makes me so happy to share it with you all, and to be lucky enough to have such incredible readers and reviewers.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

If you would like to read more of my writing, check out my author's page. I have a bunch of OS and a finished Scorose full length on there. I'm currently working on another Dramione WIP, Reformed, if you want to catch up on that and take another ride with me. I am in the outlining and resisting writing stage of a Marauder's fic that focuses on Sirius, so I'm here. I'm still writing, and I would love for you to keep reading.

XOXO

Meg


	28. Epilogue

A/N: This Epilogue has been written for quite a while, I just never posted it. Sorrrrrry. I reread Starting Over in preparation for beginning edits on it (just polishing and correcting mistakes) and realized that I failed at ever posting this despite so many people asking for it. I apologize. If you prefer to keep your own image of what happened to them, then by all means, do not feel obligated to read this.

It's intentionally short, as I feel that most questions were answered in the story, but there was one question that many people still wanted to know the answer to. Will they or won't they have a baby? I left the question unanswered in the main story, because the story wasn't really about whether they would or wouldn't have a baby. It was about Hermione's healing and Draco's role in helping her with it. But, I do realize that people still want to know, so I give those of you who wonder the answer that I have always imagined for this couple.

I would like to thank the many, many people who have read, favorited, reviewed, and followed this story. It means so much to me. This story still means a lot to me, and I love that other people love it as well. I still read every single review and find so much joy in them.

* * *

Epilogue

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Draco asked, his arms wrapping around Hermione's back as his lips found the curve of her neck.

"I'm fine. This will only take a minute," she turned to meet his lips, kissing him softly. "I'll be right up. Could you stop in my office to see if I left the Head Auror applications on my desk?"

"I hate it when you bring work to bed," he complained, his hand brushing against her breast through the cloth of her shirt.

"You bring work to bed all the time," she laughed.

"Not when I want you naked," he said honestly. "It's our anniversary, and I intend on making you very naked."

"I just want to check one thing. If you grab the file, I can be naked a few minutes faster," she teased.

"You terrible woman," he growled. "Fine, I'll grab your file." He slid his hands down her sides one last time and headed out of the room. She let him go, giving him a few minutes of a head start. As she waited, she used her wand to clean up the last of the mess from the dinner they had hosted with their family and friends who they considered family. She smiled at the memory of them all surrounding them that evening. Their life together was so beautiful, really beyond anything she could have imagined, even when he had proposed to her four years ago. A world where Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy sat down with the Grangers was something she would have laughed hysterically at, but now it was normal. Somehow this was just another night filled with laughter, and joy, and the happy shouts of their friends children racing around their home and yard.

When she had finished, she waved her wand one final time to turn down the lights and followed the path Draco had taken just minutes ago. This house had seen her, seen them, through the best years of their lives. It was remarkable really. When she had left Ron, destroyed and broken by their loss, their had seemed to be no path that did not leave her alone in her one bedroom flat. Draco had fixed her, given her the strength to mend her heart enough to give it right back to him to keep, and she could never repay him for that gift except by loving him the best she could. Their lives weren't perfect. They argued, and they made plenty of mistakes, but they were learning, getting better at loving one another with each passing year, and now they had spent four of them married. Sometimes it seemed like they had always been together, and other moments it felt like she had just fallen in love with him.

Hermione gripped the banister as she made her way up the stairs, listening for some sign of her husband. She had no intention of working tonight or spending a single moment looking at the file. Four years had passed, but she was still crazy about him, still turned to butter in his hands at the feeling the heat of his lips on her ear as he had asked if she needed help. When she reached the landing, she turned towards their bedroom. The light in her office was still on, and she smiled to herself softly as she stopped in the doorway, and he frowned at her.

"Why is all of this stuff packed?" he asked, motioning at the boxes sitting around the room. "Are you leaving me?" he teased. "We probably should have discussed this before holding an anniversary dinner with all of our family and friends tonight."

She chuckled at him, shaking her head. "Nothing so dire. I just thought this would be the best room for the baby to sleep in. It's closer to our room than the guest room. We can move your office instead if you like." She watched his face carefully, wanting to memorize and remember each motion, each moment of realization as he came to terms with her words. He hadn't pushed. He had mentioned it casually, every so often, just to let her know that it would be okay with him if she was ready one day. It had taken a long time, but one day had come. She had just looked at him over dinner as he animatedly regaled her with a replay of his day spent at a match with Harry and his kids, and she had known that she wanted to have a baby, his baby, to raise and treasure with him. She hadn't told him. She didn't want to put pressure on it, to worry about timing sex or failing month after month if they had trouble. So, she had just let things happen, and they did.

He dropped the file in his hands, the candidates for Head Auror falling in a scattered disaster across the floor, but neither of them moved to pick them up. His eyes lit, suddenly on fire, and his mouth curved into a smile. "Are you …"

"You better not ask me if I'm serious, Draco Malfoy," she cut in.

He crossed the room in moments, his arms reaching for her, and then stopped, hovering inches from her hips. After a moment of thought, he fell to his knees, his forehead resting against her flat belly. They stood there, transfixed in that moment together as he leaned gently against her, and then she felt him shaking and realized that he was crying. She moved to her own knees, pulling his face up with her hands at either side of his chin until she could kiss him softly.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips, tasting his tears.

"I love you," he mumbled back, his voice tight and thick. "You're incredible." Her own eyes were filling with tears, her mind racing, imagining how their lives would change in just months.

"You're going to be the most amazing father," she told him, and she had no doubts about this at all. He was so utterly capable of love and compassion in a way that she admired. He could have so easily turned a different way, let his childhood destroy him, turn him bitter and cold. Instead, he had somehow become this man before her that loved her unconditionally and pulled her out of her own bitter, cold self years ago.

He kissed her deeply, leading her body down to the carpet. "You better not be planning on looking at that file," he said as his hands pushed up her shirt.

"You're going to give us both carpet burns." She laughed.

Draco continued to strip her down. Her shirt flew out of sight, and his fingers started on her jeans. "You should have considered that when you decided where to tell me."

"The bedroom is five steps away," Hermione reminded him, but she just propped herself up on her elbows and watched as he pulled her jeans off her legs. He began a path of kisses up the inside of her leg as he moved his body back over hers. A little rug burn was always worth whatever Draco dragged her into on the carpet.

* * *

XOXO

Meg


End file.
